


Don't Go

by fondueyourself



Series: If We Don't Destroy Ourselves [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Background Relationships, Closeted Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, On BOTH SIDES, PTSD, just kidding there's so much angst, nothing bad happens, they take care of each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-25 00:54:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6173620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fondueyourself/pseuds/fondueyourself
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce needed a place to stay, and Tony easily obliged. Tony needed a friend, so Bruce was there to lend a hand. Bruce needed help with his angrier half, and Tony knew how to keep them safe. Tony had trouble sleeping, so Bruce laid beside him. Bruce was afraid of himself, so Tony was brave enough for them both. Tony pretended he wasn't falling in love, and Bruce pretended he wasn't catching him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Protocol 6-33-75 (SLEEP)

**Author's Note:**

> Updated 4/23/16 after a thorough beta reading by [ efficaceous ](archiveofourown.org/users/efficaceous)!

They’d been working and living together -well not together together, Bruce had a few rooms in the tower- for only a few weeks. Despite destroying the Iron Legion, Tony couldn’t save his relationship with Pepper. She had left the tower only a few days after they came back. Bruce had been staying in the tower, which was undergoing renovation on most of the upper floors, since the Battle of New York. Bruce had dealt with and even caused major destruction before, so it didn’t affect him as much as it did Tony. When Tony and Pepper left for Malibu, Bruce stayed behind with his newfound safety and home with the Avengers, for once craving stability rather than escape. Besides, Tony gave him a permanent, “work whenever you want, on whatever you want” research and development position at Stark Industries. But when they came back for New Year's Eve, and especially after Pepper left, Tony was not the same man that Bruce had met that summer. He had retreated into himself, unwilling or unable to ask for the help he clearly needed. Bruce didn’t know what to offer beyond basic friendship, and even with that Tony’s attempts seemed half-hearted, until Tony finally asked for his help as a doctor.

He opened up. Bruce, despite having fallen asleep in the impromptu therapy session, had been able to help him somehow. Tony came to life once more, resuming old projects, starting new ones with Bruce, and for a little while they were actually acting like the good friends they’d become since the Avengers’ first and only assembly. But Tony soon became obsessive about one of their ideas. Bruce had been encouraging him and helping him develop it, but as Tony became more frenetic, Bruce retracted. Tony spent days and nights in the workshop, only stopping to have Jarvis send him food and drink through what Bruce eventually found was an automated dumbwaiter. And then Bruce finally caught him sleeping facedown on a desk, snoring lightly, a pen still in his hand. Bruce let him be, figuring what little rest he got would be better than nothing. He regretted it. At 48 hours Bruce tried to force Tony into going to bed, to no avail. At 65 hours, Tony started singing _AC/DC_ ’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” at Bruce when he entered. Bruce ignored it, thinking he was delirious, and convinced him to sleep on the hard couch in the shop. Then 20 minutes later, he was digging scrap out of a bin claiming he had a breakthrough. Tony had finally reached 90 hours without leaving the shop, and Bruce had enough. It wasn’t good for him, and the project wasn’t nearly important enough for Tony to risk his health.

“I swear to god, Tony, if you’re sleeping down here again, I will carry you to bed myself.” Bruce called as he descended the stairs into the workshop. 

Tony sat on a stool with his head propped on his hand, very nearly drooling on the blueprint screen, his left hand still tapping and waving lazily over it, drawing up the plans for godknowswhatnow. The man inhaled sharply through his nose as his hand stopped and he closed his eyes. “Promise?”

“Jeezus, Tony please stop working. You haven’t had any real sleep in four days. The blueprints will still be here when you wake up.” Bruce gently laid a hand on his shoulder, hoping the contact might soothe him into complying this time. 

He sat up, and Bruce almost thought he was going to come with him, but then he was motioning over the screen and dragging the blueprints up into the air. “Look at this.”

“Tony, please-” Bruce stopped. It was a satellite. There were compartments and launching mechanisms and it damn-near looked weaponized. The file name was Hulkbuster. When Bruce was still collaborating with him, they had been talking about creating some kind of reinforcement for the Hulk, in case he got out of control. Tony had suggested some kind of remote deployment, but this was taking “remote” to a whole new level. “Tony this is-”

“And this.” Tony rose and dragged his feet to a small table, on which sat a 10 inch tall model of… something. “It’s only a markup, obviously miniature, but it’s a containment unit. The real thing will be able to hold the Hulk while the real help comes in from the satellite.” He grinned, “You still want me to stop working?”

Bruce raised his eyebrows. The man looked haggard, unshaven, dark purple bags under his eyes, and he blinked slowly, his smile wavering as Bruce delayed his response. “Yes. Seriously, Tony, you’ve got some great work done here, but you need to stop. You need sleep.” He said, stopping Tony from slinking back to a holoscreen. Tony looked at him the way Bruce imagined sullen teenagers looked at their parents, and Bruce decided he would need back-up. “Jarvis, please initiate protocol 6-33-75. Password: R B Banner.” 

Tony’s face dropped and he looked around. “You programmed a protocol? You hacked Jarvis?” Bruce thought he’d be angry, but he lit up, watching as all of his work saved and the systems shut down. “Bruce, you are amazing. I have never met anyone who could- I could kiss you. Can I kiss you?” Tony approached Bruce in awe, only to be swept up in a wheely chair brought over by Dum-E. 

“You’re delirious, Tony. Go to bed.” But Bruce smiled. The lights dimmed and Tony got up from the chair to follow Bruce out instead of being pushed along by his own robots. 

“Take me to bed.” Tony grabbed Bruce’s arm. “Seriously, I’ll sleep, but come with me.” His face softened. “I don’t avoid it for no reason. Flirting and joking aside, I would honestly sleep better if you were just… there.” He wouldn’t meet Bruce’s eyes. 

Bruce knew that Tony had nightmares, terrors even, and Bruce empathized with that. He realized after the first few nights together that there were other reasons to sleep in Tony’s bed.


	2. Do You Feel Better?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's become routine for Tony or Bruce to wake up and be comforted by the other's presence.

Tony gasped and opened his eyes. His heart pounded in his chest and he couldn’t get enough air. He bolted upright and tried to focus on breathing. That’s when he saw Bruce. Curled into himself but soft and peaceful, and before Tony even realized what had happened, his breathing slowed and the panic subsided. Not completely, but enough, just from knowing the man was there. Bruce shifted on the bed as Tony laid back down. 

“Tony? Are you alright?” Bruce mumbled sleepily beside him. 

“Yeah, ‘s fine.” Tony whispered, still panting slightly. This was practically routine by now. Bruce shared Tony’s bed for almost a week. It was strictly platonic; they even agreed to wear pajamas, rather than Tony’s usual preference of sleeping in his underwear. Getting to sleep was easier. Tony could follow Bruce’s controlled, even breaths, and the extra warmth and weight on the bed was a comforting reminder that he wasn’t alone. That he was alive, and so was Bruce and everyone else because of him. Almost every night, Tony would wake up in full panic attack, and Bruce was there to calm him back to sleep. Bruce had nightmares too, but his weren’t cause for a panic attack. Tony would wake up to Bruce muttering and once even crying in his sleep. Bruce never told him what the dream was, but Tony could guess. Sharing a body with the Hulk wasn’t easy in itself, but Bruce’s tendency to ravage cities and terrify the townsfolk would give any man nightmares. 

But this time, Bruce broke the routine. “Come here, Tony.” Bruce lifted the sheet, indicating that Tony should move closer. Tony had flirted and joked about them getting together since they met, even when he was still with Pepper, but he had never thought about how it would actually feel to be in Bruce’s personal space. He could feel the warmth of Bruce’s body heat entwining with his own, and Bruce was still enveloped in the soft scent of soap from his shower before bed. This was intimate. More intimate than sex. He lay facing Bruce so that their knees knocked together and their faces were mere inches apart. Bruce draped the blanket over him and hugged him. Tony had no choice but to return the hug, being that close. “You don’t have to pretend to be okay.” Bruce breathed in his ear. “It’s okay to need help. My sleeping next to you is good, but if you need more, even just a touch or a hug, I want to help.”

Tony stiffened in Bruce’s arms until Bruce let go; still, not wanting to back away, Tony laid his head on Bruce’s pillow. Bruce was, in that moment, the best friend that Tony had ever had. They locked eyes, and in the silver light that shined through the window curtain, Tony saw Bruce flick his eyes to Tony’s mouth. In their closeness, they shared the air between them, and then Tony did feel that he needed more. He returned the glance, from Bruce’s eyes to his lips and back, expecting rejection or retreat, but finding permission and even invitation. 

Their lips met softly. Bruce lay his hand on Tony’s waist. Tony slipped his tongue between Bruce’s parted lips, and then everything else was gone. Bruce matched him, and when they finally broke apart, Tony was breathing heavily for a very different reason. 

“That’s really not what I meant, but…” Bruce looked away, unable to hide his smile. “Do you feel better?”

Tony huffed a laugh, “Yes. Very much.” He kissed Bruce again. “Thank you.”

The next morning, they got up, had coffee, and made their way into the workshop, just like any other day. They worked together and separately; Tony dealt with some Stark Industries business, and by the time they were crawling back into bed, neither of them had said a word about what had happened. Then Bruce curled into Tony’s side instead of shrinking into a ball on his side of the bed. Tony put an arm around him and kissed the top of Bruce's head. His hair smelled like honeysuckle from his shampoo. Bruce kissed his lips once and turned around so Tony was spooning him. Tony tried not to think about what it meant that they didn’t talk about it.


	3. Take a Beating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> None of the Hulkbuster traps are working.

Bruce counted his breaths and pulled his knees into his chest. He was naked, exhausted, and cold, but he was still in the safe-room with no new dents in the walls. There were scraps of sharp, crushed, and twisted scraps of metal strewn around the room. The new trap prototype hadn’t worked. He sighed and allowed himself another minute on the floor to muster his strength.

Bruce heard the chunk of the bolted door as Tony opened it and rushed inside with a blanket for him. “Easy Bruce, go slow. How’s your head?” Bruce sat up and took the blanket. “Sort of pounding. Nothing unusual. Why?”

“The other guy, well, he sort of headbutted his way out of it. Ran straight into the wall. The wall’s not dented, so I figured…”

“I’m okay. Bullets, cars, walls, he can take a beating.” Bruce stood up slowly. “Tony, that one was sort of our last hope. I don’t think we can make this thing work. He’s too strong, too determined.”

“No. We’re not giving up. We’ll figure something out.” Tony said stubbornly. He pulled Bruce into a hug. Bruce, naked but for the blanket, awkwardly accepted the soothing gesture. “We’ll make it work, Bruce.”

Bruce relaxed in Tony’s arms and held onto him, perhaps longer than necessary, but Tony didn’t seem to mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's very short, but I couldn't combine it with another chapter. Sorry.


	4. Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Failure, inspiration, bliss.

Bruce focused the microscope, adjusted the light, and cursed. He saw what he always saw. No matter what solutions, mixtures, compounds, magic fucking potions he tried, it didn’t matter. The cells always bubbled, turned green, and expanded, eating the new compound in a matter of seconds. Once, it had seemed to work, the few drops of solution resisted and even seemed to keep his sample cells from changing, but after a minute, the solution failed and was consumed by the cells, regenerating and expanding, destroying everything in their wake.

He disposed the dish and slumped into his chair. “Fuck.” He swore under his breath. That solution had taken 16 hours to prepare, for nothing. 

“Hey,” Tony said behind him, a touch of sympathy in his tone. “No breakthroughs?” His hands came to rest on Bruce’s shoulders, solid and warm. 

“I should be used to it by now.” Bruce admitted, tilting his head backward over the chair to look at Tony. He had a smudge of grease on the side of his nose, and he smiled sympathetically. “How are things going on your side? Any good news to cheer me up?”

Tony grinned. “I’ve been playing with some old suit designs, and I had an idea. Instead of a wearable suit that can be controlled remotely, I’m building AI robots.”

“Robots?” Bruce swiveled the chair so he could look at the man properly. “You’ve already built all kinds of bots. I just assumed you didn’t want any humanoid ones. Why now?

“Well, I’ve tried before. When I first made Jarvis, I tried to make him a body. The programming is tricky, to get the bot to function without commanding each individual movement. The less complex bots like Dum-E are easier. They understand and perform simple commands, and they can learn, like Jarvis. But if I could get that kind of intelligence into complex bots like the Iron Legion, they wouldn’t even need the commands!” 

Bruce was skeptical. “You want to rebuild the Iron Legion with Jarvis inside to control them? Without being commanded? Tony I know you can do amazing things, but doesn’t that sound a bit too science fiction? Like, I, Robot? If they really are intelligent, there’s a lot that could go wrong.”

“Well, that’s why I’ve got you to help me. We can add in a failsafe in case it gets out of control. We just have to invent the failsafe first.” He smiled. Bruce cursed that smile sometimes. Tony could tell Bruce they were going to catch the moon in a fishing net, and if he smiled like that at the end, Bruce would help him do it. 

“Alright, we’ll do it. But not tonight.” Bruce hid his amusement as he removed his glasses and scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’ve got a better idea for tonight.”

“Better than building life-like robots that will change the world?” Tony crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, skeptical that Bruce could have something better. 

Bruce inhaled, made up his mind, and stood up right in Tony’s space. He worried it would make him uncomfortable, but on the contrary, Tony’s eyes widened and he seemed to lean even closer to Bruce. “Yes.” Bruce breathed, his slow grin challenging Tony to accept without knowing what Bruce was proposing. Bruce slipped his folded glasses into his pocket and reached up to Tony’s nape. The time between touching his neck and kissing him was slow and flush with longing. Tony was indulging him, letting him take his time. It was two weeks since they had their first kiss in Tony’s bed. They’d shared many in that time, but this was the first outside of that space which now seemed nearly sacred, the place they could find solace together like nowhere else. But here, seven floors below that hallowed bed, Bruce was bringing comfort into the rest of their lives. 

Tony followed Bruce’s lead, easing into the kiss like wading into the shallows of a pool, and when Bruce dove in, Tony pulled his hips against Bruce’s own and blatantly sucked Bruce’s tongue as though it gave him life. Bruce growled and let his hand wander to Tony’s ass as they feverishly rutted into each other. Then Tony suddenly stopped. 

He stepped back and held Bruce at arm’s length. “Bruce.” His eyes fixed on Bruce’s chest, and he was obviously fighting with himself over something. Bruce wondered if he’d stepped over an unseen line. “I’ve gotta ask a stupid question before we– before this.” He paused and Bruce searched his face apprehensively. “You aren’t gonna turn green if you get too excited, are you? It’s got something to do with heart rate, right? I know we’ve talked about it, but not in this context and–”

“Tony.” Bruce sighed with an embarrassed smile, meeting Tony’s eyes. “Do you really think I would’ve shared a bed with you if I were? I had been afraid of that for a while, but it’s more to do with emotional and psychological triggers. That’s how I learned to control it better. When we get there though, I have to insist on condoms. For everything.” Bruce turned serious as he considered the consequences.

“Everything?” Tony quirked an eyebrow and made a show of eyeing Bruce up. His suggestive manner made Bruce wonder if Tony understood the severity of the consequences.

“You would have a higher chance of being poisoned or dying from contact with my blood, semen, or even preejaculate than you would of contracting an STI after having sex with thirty hookers. When I say condoms are necessary, I mean it. And I can’t give insertive anal intercourse at all; it’s too big a risk. Sorry if that’s too much to handle, or if that’s something you wanted, but… it would actually kill you.”

Tony’s expression went from skeptical to shocked consternation. Bruce couldn’t help but think he’d finally succeeded in shutting Tony up, when he finally spoke. “Well, that put a dampener on the mood... Kissing is safe though, right?”

Bruce relaxed his shoulders and some of the tension lifted from his chest. “Yes. Any traces in my saliva are minimal and harmless as long as you aren’t exposed to radiation before your body breaks it down.”

“How the hell did you test this?” Tony was genuinely curious.

“Mixing samples in the lab.”

“This lab?”

“This one and another before it, yes. All the equipment has been thoroughly cleaned if that’s-”

“So you jacked off in here?” Of course Tony would think of that.

“No, I brought a sample in a biohazard cup.” Bruce said seriously.

“Right. Anyway, you’re saying if I grab condoms, I can blow you?” Tony grinned.

Bruce’s heart raced. He thought the warning might have given Tony second thoughts. He considered what he’d said, and realized that he hadn’t dissuaded him at all. If anything, Tony was relieved and excited. “Let’s not rush it, Tony.” He said, unable to stop the blush that crept up his face. “But yes.”

Tony abruptly stepped forward and kissed Bruce again. Bruce wondered how he’d lived so long knowing that this man existed, yet he never imagined the firm press of his lips or the warmth of his embrace. He sucked kisses from Tony’s mouth down his neck until he got to the shirt collar. “Bed, now.” Tony said. “Jarvis, close up shop for the night. And remind me, are there condoms and lube in my room?”

“There are, sir. Will you be needing anything else?” Jarvis answered teasingly.

“Cheeky. I think we’ll stick with those tonight.” 

“Massage oil.” Bruce interjected. Tony raised an eyebrow at him, but Bruce just gave him a “you’ll see” look and led the way upstairs.

“Massage oil?” Tony questioned as they walked. “Jarvis do we have any? What are you plotting?” He raised an eyebrow, looking mischievous. 

Bruce waited for Jarvis’ positive answer before he answered lightly, glad that he could tease Tony for once. “What does one usually do with massage oil, Tony? Up until now, we’ve been doing this for comfort right? We can just keep doing that if you want.” He dropped his voice for effect and said “But I would rather loosen you up until you’re begging me to touch your cock.”

“Oh baby, I’m already there. How long have we known each other? Six, seven months? I’ve been trying to get your hands on me since day one. Or did you think I was kidding?”

“I knew you weren’t kidding, Tony.” Bruce put his arm around Tony’s waist so they walked hip to hip, warmed by the contact. By the time they reached the bedroom, Tony was rambling in circles about all the possible sexual uses of massage oil. Bruce pushed him against the door as it closed and shut him up with a kiss. He undid his own shirt buttons in record time and helped Tony pull his shirt over his head so they could press skin to skin at last. 

“Fuck, Bruce, whatever you were gonna do, forget it; I’m begging you now.” Tony gasped. He grabbed Bruce’s ass and pulled him closer. Bruce could feel Tony’s hard length through the layers of straining fabric between them. It had been so long since he’d done this, and even longer since he’d done it with a man. He wondered if he would be able to hold off long enough to massage Tony like he’d promised. No, he wouldn’t give in. He had more self control than that, and it would be so worth it.

Bruce eased backwards, still kissing him as he did. “Get undressed and go lay down.” He whispered in Tony’s ear before stepping back to look for the oil. He pulled open drawers and checked all the shelves and finally found it, along with the condoms and lube, in the nightstand. The blue tinted glass bottle looked expensive, and the label was in French. Bruce forced himself to not look at Tony as he pulled down his pants, leaving his boxer briefs on, not just to hide his pulsing cock, which they did not, but to keep any precum from ruining their night. When he finally looked up, Tony was sitting naked on the bed and staring at him with such lust that Bruce had to remind himself to breathe. “Lie on your stomach first.” He whispered. 

“Don’t be nervous, Bruce.” Great, now Tony was reading his mind. “This ain’t my first rodeo. Lay it on me. Actually, lay yourself on me.” He smirked as he lay down. 

Bruce knelt beside Tony and uncapped the bottle. He didn’t trust himself to straddle the man’s perfectly curved ass. He tried to warm some of the oil in his hands first, but Tony got insistent. 

“I’m serious Bruce, if you don’t hurry up, I’ll-” Bruce pressed his oiled hands to Tony’s back, and Tony’s mouth caught in a silent “Oh,” in what Bruce hoped was pleasant shock. Bruce had a surprising amount of experience in this, having had to massage a few patients in need of physical therapy while he was practicing medicine on the run; his patients never got what he had in mind for Tony though. He worked Tony’s muscles gently, easing their tension. He moved from back to shoulders to neck, then back down until he reached his buttocks. Tony had been mostly quiet until then, but as Bruce pressed into the supple muscle, he moaned “Yesss.” Bruce’s dick, which had gone half soft in that time perked again at the sound. Bruce swung a leg over Tony’s legs, kneeling in a straddle. He dragged a few more breathy moans out of Tony before the man began to push back, effectively alternating between the firm massage of Bruce’s hands and humping the mattress. Bruce stopped and sat up on his knees.

“Roll over.” He couldn’t hide his gentle smile as Tony, still uncharacteristically nonverbal, obeyed. Now face to face, he was harder to resist. Bruce leaned forward and kissed him softly, remembering that the purpose of this was more to relax the both of them. The sex was meant to be a bonus, not a goal. Tony’s tongue tantalized Bruce into lingering there longer than he intended, and Tony’s hips started rocking up against his still clothed cock. “Not yet.” Bruce sat back up, proud of his self control despite the growing ache in his balls. He warmed more oil and started this time with Tony’s shoulders. 

Tony locked eyes with him and Bruce could swear he started moaning more on purpose. His pectorals were next, followed by the slow descent down his abdomen. Tony flexed and tensed his chest and abs every time Bruce released his pressure. That, combined with the man’s breathy moans, was testing Bruce’s patience. He moved his hands lower to Tony’s hips and thighs, and Tony was practically thrusting at him as he touched his inner thighs below his balls. Bruce still hadn’t touched his cock. It stood, pointing at him, and the longer he drew this out, the more Bruce wanted to take it in his hand and mouth and draw out Tony’s bliss with the caress of his lips and fingers. Bruce’s own muscles were tensed in effort to not rock his hips into Tony’s leg. He sat back, relieving some of his muscle strain as he bent Tony’s knees. Tony propped himself up on his elbows to watch Bruce switch from oil to lube. 

“Finally. Not that I haven’t been thoroughly enjoying your hands, but I was thinking there might be other uses for them too. I swear I’m going to explode.” His voice strained in the last sentence.

Bruce chuckled. “.” With his fingers slathered in lube, Bruce moved his hand not to Tony’s visibly pulsing cock, but to his pert ass below. He hovered there for a second. “Is this okay?” He had to ask first. If Bruce did anything that Tony didn’t want, it would ruin the build, and potentially their relationship dynamic. 

“Fucking shit, Bruce! Now you ask?! Hell yes it’s okay! I want your fingers in my ass, your hand on my dick, and your mouth literally anywhere you’ll put it. Please, for the love of science, fuck me!” 

Bruce grinned and held eye contact with him as he slid in his finger in one smooth glide. Tony gasped but did not look away. In and out, Bruce fingered him, adding another and soon after, a third until Tony was thrusting with him, fucking himself on Bruce’s fingers. As Tony’s eyes started to close and his face turned from pleasure to hot, tense, bliss he keened, “Okay Bruce, I’m begging you. I need you to touch me. Let me come. Please!” He threw his head back. Bruce wrapped his hand around the base of Tony’s cock, and finally, finally he bent over and covered the head of his cock with his lips. He was lying between Tony’s legs, fingering his asshole, sucking his dick, and rutting into the mattress. He licked the underside of Tony’s cock before taking it into his mouth. It was hot and heavy on his tongue. He bobbed his head, and knowing how close Tony was, he bent his fingers inside him, drawing out a yelp of pleasure. “Do that again!” Tony shouted. Bruce did, and he pulled back as he did, so when Tony jerked uncontrollably in his orgasm, Bruce had only the head in his mouth to taste his come. 

Tony shouted through his orgasm, calling Bruce’s name like a prayer. Bruce swallowed and gently withdrew his fingers as Tony came down. He sat up and watched Tony’s face soften to a smile. “Told you it would be worth it.” Bruce smirked, glancing down and back up at Tony’s face.

Tony laughed. “You did. Jesus christ, that was amazing. You were right. Worth it.” Tony sat up and kissed him. “And now…” He palmed Bruce’s erection over his underwear. Bruce leaned into it and kissed him again. 

“Condom.” He said. Tony reached for one as Bruce removed his underwear. Tony rolled it over his rigid cock and began stroking him in slow, firm movements, finally giving Bruce the friction he craved. Bruce drew him into a forceful kiss that matched Tony’s pace. 

“Can I blow you now?” Tony whispered, licking the shell of Bruce’s ear.

“Yes, please!” Bruce laughed. Tony started with the head and slowly took him deeper into his mouth. It didn’t take long before Bruce’s hips started moving. Tony held him still and bobbed his head. He seemed more experienced than Bruce expected. His wet lips and tongue sent Bruce’s head spinning. He knew that most of the pleasure was from having waited so long, but he couldn’t help but suspect that Tony’s tongue was just that good. His orgasm built quickly, his balls pulling tight barely a second before he was coming. “Tony!” He couldn’t even give warning. Tony took it in stride though, lifting off of Bruce’s cock and jerking him through it with his hand. He came down feeling weightless and spent. “Tony.” He was rendered inarticulate, unable to find words for his physical and emotional eruption.

“Bruce.” Tony countered. He removed the condom for him, and Bruce surprised himself by trusting him to dispose of it properly. Tony came back with a damp cloth for him. “You are a wonder. Really, I never would have guessed.”

“Guessed what?” Bruce asked as he wiped his hands and soft dick. “Biohazard bag?” He stood up. 

“In the bathroom. Guessed that you, one of the most brilliant scientists in the world, could not only suck dick but also give the sexiest massage ever.”

Bruce put the cloth in the bag and sealed it before crawling back into bed. “I don’t know about ever, but thank you.”

“Thank _you_.” Tony repeated. Bruce pulled the sheets up and kissed Tony softly as they wrapped around each other beneath the sheets to sleep.


	5. Scar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce's nightmare.

Bruce remembered the change. It was the sudden crash and the subsequent fear and anxiety that triggered it, but that didn’t matter now; his heartbeat pounded a rhythm he couldn’t control, and then the pain burst through him, blinding as his skin tore and regrew, bones fractured and healed in a million places, muscles rippled and expanded to accommodate the escaping monster. The Hulk opened his eyes, and Bruce blacked out. 

There were only fragments, pictures of what happened: Natasha on the floor, Thor’s hammer, a plane. It wasn’t those that scared him. It was waking up. Unbelievable pain and the fear of himself and what he’d done overwhelmed every nerve in his body. He lay still. He knew that he could move, that the pain would subside quickly. But he didn’t want to see the damage, what he’d destroyed, who he’d killed, where he’d landed once the Hulk had worn himself out. As the pain eased, he reluctantly opened his eyes. 

The world around him was stone rubble, twisted metal, smoke, and blood. There was so much blood. Some of it was his own, he realized, and immediately worried about poisoning any nearby life, but there was none. He stood up and shivered; his skin was hot despite the chilled breeze, but Bruce barely registered the fever. In the rubble were bodies. Hundreds of them. Some seemed only to have been hit by debris, but others… There were crushed skulls, limbs torn out of their sockets, a man only twenty feet from where Bruce awoke appeared to have been flattened, stepped on or crushed. There were law enforcement officers still strapped into the seats of their patrol cars which had been upended or thrown. There were soldiers in uniform who had been picked up and flung back towards their tanks. The gun on one of those tanks had been ripped off and smashed into the side of an office building. Bruce didn’t know where this place was, but whatever it had been, it wasn’t that anymore. 

He walked, not feeling his own footsteps but hearing the crunch of glass and rubble beneath his bare feet, and he was not sure in that moment of his own existence when everything around him was dead. He drifted slowly through what used to be a street until he started to recognize some of the dead. There on the ground, that was Clint, his bow splintered in his hand. Bruce looked away, unable to bear the sight of his friend’s bloody and broken body. But not far off was Steve, his own shield planted in his chest. And there was Natasha, her face, so lovely in life, now frozen in anguish, visible beneath a crushed car. His ever-present dread had been realized; everyone he’d come to care about was dead at his hand. Thor was farther down the road, the demigod’s spine and neck broken, but his hammer lay just beyond the grasp of his outstretched hand. Bruce realized slowly that he hadn’t seen this before; this wasn’t his memory. A dream then, a nightmare. But it felt so real, and he wasn’t waking up. 

He found Tony. His armor had trapped him and a long steel bar had been driven into his abdomen. Bruce fell to his knees before him, and it didn’t matter that this wasn’t real because it could have been, and if this wasn’t real, then what was? He carefully removed Tony’s helmet. His eyes were still open in shock, and his lips were stained with blood. Bruce couldn’t do anything for him or the rest of them. Why wasn’t he waking up? He clutched Tony’s shoulders, the suit just as cold and lifeless as the man inside, and choked back the well of anguish in his chest. In his head, something stirred, not with anger or even anxiety but with something Bruce had never felt in the other guy: sorrow.

Bruce opened his eyes. They were sore and wet and he realized he’d been crying in his sleep. He knew that what he’d seen in his dream wasn’t what had happened that day last May. He knew that his friends were alive and safe. Bruce turned his head, and there he was, still snoring peacefully beside him. 

“Tony?” His voice cracked and made little sound. “Tony, wake up.” He tried again in a whisper. 

“Hmm?” Tony blinked his eyes open. “Whazamatter?”

Bruce hugged him, putting his head on Tony’s chest. His heart beat steadily, and Bruce sighed. “Nothing. Nightmare.”

Tony’s arms wrapped around him. “I’ve got you… I’m alive. We’re all alive.” 

“I know.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Tony mumbled sleepily.

Bruce shifted and looked at him. His eyes were closed again. “No. Sleep.” He put his head back on Tony’s bare chest in the place where the arc reactor used to be, now only a scar. Bruce felt like a scar. The Hulk tore him apart, and yet here he was, healed but still broken, sore, a scar.


	6. Are You Two Married?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha is staying in the tower.

Tony was actually surprised that Natasha agreed to live in the tower when he offered her the space. He had only asked her about ten times before, and she always prefered a hotel or apartment. She planned to stay in New York for at least three months this time though. 

“Sure, why not? Rent free, all expenses paid, access to your garage, it sounds pretty nice.” She said. 

“It is pretty nice. You know the renovations include apartment floors for all the Avengers. Gonna change the name to Avengers’ Tower.” Stark told her. 

“Bruce is already staying here, right? How many rooms are left while everything’s under construction?” She pointed vaguely upward.

“Most of the work is on the top twenty floors, so everything below that is clear for now. A lot of it is Stark Industries labs and offices, but we’ve still got three floors of living space. You’ll have four rooms for yourself. Bruce and I share six rooms plus the labs, and there’s plenty of shared space in the main living room and kitchen. ‘Course it’s not as much as it once was given that these floors were originally for guests and events, and the nicer apartments were in the upper floors, but I’m sure you’ll be comfortable. It’s just until the construction is finished.”

“Sure.” She looked at Tony skeptically and then took in the rooms. Tony gave her a tour until they came across Bruce reading in one of the living rooms.

Tony and Bruce had agreed to keep their calming-sleeping-together-relationship-thing a secret, at least until they figured out exactly what it was they were doing. Tony was not jealous, then, when Bruce hugged her in greeting and only gave him a smile. He may have gotten accustomed to small displays of affection from him, but he wasn’t going to gripe about losing them.

It was late afternoon when they’d gotten home, and Bruce had planned to make dinner, so while Nat went upstairs to settle in, Tony joined Bruce in the kitchen. He leaned on the stainless steel countertop and plucked half a strawberry from Bruce’s cutting board. 

“You are gorgeous today, you know that?” He purred before popping the berry in his mouth.

Bruce watched him, open-mouthed, as if trying to gauge his intentions before the corners his lips turned slightly upward. “Thank you. I’ll assume that has something to do with why you’ve been so quiet since you got home?”

Tony stepped around the counter and slowly took the knife from Bruce’s hand and set it down. With his hands on Bruce’s hips, Tony gently kissed him. Bruce’s lips parted, but Tony drew away and stepped back, lest Nat walk in and see them. Bruce dropped his gaze in disappointment. The feeling was mutual. “I don’t want to tell her. That’s not what this is. I just missed you.” Tony muttered. Then before he could reply, he jumped up to sit on the counter and asked “What are you making?”

Bruce hesitated. “Mahi mahi with strawberry vinaigrette salad. You missed me? You were gone four hours. Don’t shrug it off, Tony. Tell me.”

“It’s nothing.” He lowered his voice. “I just wanted to kiss you when we got home, and I couldn’t. It’s not a big deal.”

Bruce sighed. “If you want the Avengers to live with us, you’re going to have to get used to that. Quit pouting.” Bruce stepped between Tony’s spread legs and Tony leaned down to kiss him. He heard a door close upstairs and Bruce stepped back to resume cooking. Tony hopped down and moved to a barstool so he wouldn’t be tempted to mess with Bruce. 

“So, what are you doing in your time away from saving the world?” Natasha asked as she rejoined them. 

“Oh, you know, just nerdy science stuff. We’ve been inventing. We’ve got some cool new projects up our sleeves, right Bruce?” Tony could have rambled about the Hulkbuster for days, but he thought it would be better to let Bruce decide what to tell her. 

Bruce nodded. “We’re building a uh, suit. That can stop the Hulk in case of emergencies.” He looked uneasy, but he busied himself with preparing the fish.

Nat looked impressed. “Will that work? Fighting him, I mean. Shouldn’t the goal be to calm him down if you can?”

“Ideally, yes, but we haven’t worked that out yet.” Bruce put the fish in a skillet and didn’t look up at them. 

Natasha raised an eyebrow at Bruce’s use of ‘we’.

“We designed a trap to deploy remotely.” Tony explained. “It will be able to contain him while we try to calm him down. The suit is for when that doesn’t work. 

Natasha thought about that. “What about a lullaby? Get his attention, set up a routine to wind him down. Music, words, whatever works. Touch even, if anyone’s willing to get close enough…”

Bruce tensed and peered at them over his glasses. “I’m not sure it would be worth the risk.” He fidgeted with the spatula as he fried the fish.

Tony watched his movements. His fingers traced up and down the handle, feeling the textured rubber. He was anxious. Tony changed the subject for him. “If we could get the suit in stealth mode, it would be easier.”

Bruce looked over at him with mixture of relief and frustration. “You’re joking, right?”

“It is possible. If we set up the reflective panels inside the armor, it could easily be switched mid-flight.”

“You fly with repulsor beams!” Bruce took the bait to return to their week long argument. “How do you plan on making that invisible? Not to mention the noise!”

“You always go back to the noise. It’s not that loud.”

“You listen to music at 110 decibels, you’re desensitized, if not suffering hearing loss.” Bruce countered in exasperation.

“What?” Tony deadpanned. 

They continued like this for a few minutes before Natasha spoke up incredulously. “I must have missed the wedding. Are you two married?”

Bruce dropped his grin and looked at her. “What?”

“You talk like an old couple. It’s cute, but it’s weirding me out.”

Tony froze for a fraction of a second before he realized she wasn’t serious. He played along to stop himself from getting defensive. “We’re not- Are we married?” He turned to Bruce.

Bruce turned around to plate the fish, but Tony caught a light flush creeping up his face. “Well you did give me a titanium ring last week.”

“Oh, well if that was it then we have to re-do it. That was a crap proposal. And you’re not even wearing the ring!” Tony laughed. He saw Natasha’s point as they started up again. 

“It was three feet wide! Can you imagine if I went around wearing that thing?” Bruce turned around with a grin.

“Ridiculous.” Nat snorted.

They settled down to eat, but Tony kept running Nat’s comment through his head. He noted every time he wanted to do something couple-ish to Bruce but had to restrain himself. By the time they were relaxing in their own living room, running over the next day’s work on Bruce’s tablet, Tony had reached 41 in his count. He put his arm around Bruce’s shoulders and kissed his temple for 42 and 43. Bruce looked up at him, his expression soft and light, and Tony suddenly felt like his chest was filled with helium. He forgot their work plans and was lost without thought in Bruce’s gaze.

_Fuck._


	7. Truth or Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What it says on the tin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of crack-ish, but it suits their relationship/secret dynamic, so the fanfiction gods made me do it.

Bruce was definitely not drunk enough for this. He wasn’t drunk at all, in fact, unlike his friends. He, Natasha, Tony, Rhodey, and Clint were all sitting around drinking and having a good time until Clint initiated a game of Truth or Dare. Bruce was content to watch and listen as the others made fools of themselves, but then Natasha called on him. He couldn’t imagine any of his truths would be very fun, so he said “Dare.” 

“Let’s see if your bromance with Tony has any romance in it. I dare you to kiss him.”

Bruce didn’t think Natasha was very drunk, so maybe she didn’t think he would do it. Everyone said “Oooo” and goaded him on, though. Bruce looked at Tony, who made a flirtatious and exaggerated kiss face, batted his eyelashes, and winked at him. Bruce couldn’t contain his laughter. Tony was definitely drunk enough for this. He knew Tony’s flirting was playful to suit the moment, and he also knew that this could seriously ruin his bet with him that their friends wouldn’t figure out that they were in a relationship until Christmas. Tony put a hand on Bruce’s knee, and despite his stakes in the bet, Bruce decided they could mess with their friends. He turned to face Tony and asked “You up for this?” 

“Are you?” Tony countered with a raised eyebrow. Bruce braced himself with an arm on the couch and leaned in slowly. He tried to pretend he hadn’t done this a hundred times before. Tony closed his eyes and met him halfway with his lips closed. Natasha didn’t say how long they had to hold it, and Bruce didn’t want to push it. He was about to pull back when Tony put a hand on his neck and opened his mouth. Bruce followed suit and licked just inside Tony’s lips, pretending to test the waters, though he doubted anyone would believe this was their first kiss anyway. Tony met his tongue and they began to make out in earnest. 

Bruce was starting to get lost in it when he heard a cough, and Clint said “Guys?” Bruce broke away immediately and looked at his hands in his lap. He could feel everyone, including Tony, staring at him, and his face burned. 

“What was that?” Rhodey gaped. 

“I didn’t know you had it in you, Bruce.” Tony smirked at him.

“Seemed like you were pretty into it too, Tony.” Natasha backed Bruce up.

“Yeah, do you guys wanna tell us anything?” Clint suggested, leaning forward with an eyebrow raised and half a smirk. He almost looked hopeful. 

Bruce gave him a challenging stare. “Yeah, I do Clint. Truth or Dare?”

**

“That was some kiss back there.” Tony said as he undressed. 

“They didn’t say anything afterward though. I think our bet is still on.” Bruce crawled into bed.

“Oh, but you just upped the stakes, Brucie-boy. If we’re gonna play it like that, it’s gonna get fast and loose.”

“Yeah? I thought you liked it slow and tight.” Bruce quipped. 

Tony collapsed into bed beside him and laughed. “I do. And I maintain that we should try out that dildo.” Tony grinned at him.

Tony was still tipsy, though he’d quit drinking after that kiss. Bruce kissed him once, twice, before saying “Another night, maybe. But you still don’t want to just tell them?”

“About the dildo? I think that’s just for us, love.”

“About us! Being together.” Bruce laughed.

“Oh, no! That would ruin all the fun.”


	8. An Actual Romantic Dating Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony drags Bruce along on a business trip to Washington DC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait on this one. I blame finals week (month).

The noise from the tools was just barely matched by the riff of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” blaring through the workshop’s sound system. Tony had been working on the Hulkbuster’s weapons system for hours. As he finished up, he noticed the music had stopped. He turned around and Bruce stood just inside, with Pepper Potts in the doorway behind him. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Pepper asked in that way that wasn’t really asking.

“Nice to see you too. I am ready. Everything’s packed upstairs. I wanted to finish this before we go.”

“I saw you packed for me too.” Bruce moved towards him. “You know I’m not going.”

Tony pretended he did not know this. “Why not? You don’t have to go to meetings, you can go to the Smithsonian, we can go to the inventors’ convention. It’ll be like vacation. Except without a beach. Or nice weather. Or cocktails. Okay, so not vacation, but we’ll have a nice suite. And when I’m done with work stuff we can do whatever you want.” Tony glanced at Pepper, who waited, arms crossed, in the doorway. She was the only person who knew the nature of their relationship. Tony hadn’t told her, he wouldn’t want to rub salt in the way that they had broken up, but Tony had forgotten that she was coming over, so she caught them in a compromising situation. Thankfully they still had most of their clothes on at the time. She hadn’t exactly been surprised, but that didn’t make lunch any less awkward after that. Now she just seemed impatient, not upset or jealous, just waiting for them so they could catch their flight to DC.

Bruce stopped only a foot away and put his hands in his pockets. “Tony, I have my own work to do here. I’ve got that presentation I’m working on; I was about to start on that neutralizing serum; and someone’s got to make sure Jarvis stays on track with the Legion.”

“Ok, now you’re just making up excuses. Jarvis can handle himself and can call us if he needs us. And you’ve been ‘about to start’ the serum for weeks. Please Bruce,” He lowered his voice, “Don’t make me go to this thing alone.” He felt bad saying it. The vulnerability was real, and he knew he’d be miserable without Bruce there, but using it to persuade him to come was more manipulative than pitiful. Still, he watched Bruce’s face soften and knew it was for the best. For both of them.

Bruce sighed. “I guess I could use a break.”

“Yes!” Tony cheered. “Hey, can you set that sleep protocol to shut everything down? That’s so convenient, how did I not think of that?” He chattered to Bruce as they left. 

When Bruce had gone to get his bag, Pepper suddenly turned on Tony. “Did he say something about the Legion? Are rebuilding your Iron Man army?” 

“Uh, well, not exactly. It’s the same type of thing, but totally different principles. We’re working on intelligent systems that can run a complex body without a person inside or giving direct orders. It’s really not like the original Legion at all because those were suits and these are-”

“Robots. You’re making AI robots? That’s insane! It’s incredible, but it’s insane! What are they for?”

“Well, it’s funny you should ask that really because-”

“All set.” Bruce said, coming down the stairs. Tony could kiss him for his timing. He had no idea what he was going to say to Pepper. They were still in the early stages of planning. Sure, the prototypes were built and their programming was under way, but Bruce and Tony were still discussing the practical applications of them. Tony wanted them for protection, similar to the original Legion but not just for himself, for the Avengers, for New York, for the world, but there was no way he was going to tell Pepper that.

“Great!” Tony said, obstructing Pepper from pulling him back on topic. “Let’s go.”

Unfortunately, Tony had a “boring monkey-suit meeting” right after they landed, so Bruce went right to Steve’s. There was a new Captain America hall in the Smithsonian, so Bruce suggested they check that out. Steve admitted that he had already been, but didn’t mind taking Bruce anyway. 

“It must be kind of weird, seeing yourself in a museum.” Bruce commented as they walked through the exhibit. Bruce hadn’t been to the Smithsonian museums since he was a kid, and the nerd in him was actually excited to see everything.

“No weirder than waking up in the 21st century as an idolized war hero.” Steve shrugged. “My whole life has been weird. Having it displayed in a museum actually puts it into perspective.” 

They were just entering another exhibit when Bruce’s phone buzzed. “Tony?” He answered it.

“Hey, I’ve got a weird question and it’s gonna seem like the wrong time to ask but we have to talk about it because I’m trying to make a stock deal with this woman, and she’s flirting with me to get me to agree with her. It’s never been a problem before, half of SI’s deals came from me charming my way through–”

“Tony what’s the question?” Bruce interrupted. 

“Are we in a relationship? An actual romantic dating thing?”

Bruce paused and leaned against a wall. He wasn’t sure how to answer. Whatever acknowledgement he gave here would have a good deal of finality. He lowered his voice; Steve was standing a little way away, but Bruce didn’t want him to overhear. “Well, we’re not-not in a relationship… We’ve been doing this since, what, January? February? I haven’t seen anyone else; have you?” Then he realized what it would mean if Tony had, and he wondered how they’d made it through nine months of flirting and sleeping together without actually talking about monogamy.

“No. I mean I have that reputation but it’s not real. I think this is real, Bruce.” Tony sounded almost scared.

“I think so too…” He tried not to let his relief show in his tone. They would have to talk about this more later.

“So can I tell her that I’m actually seeing somebody so we can get through this stupid thing? Obviously I won’t say who I’m with.”

“Yeah, whatever you need to do.” Bruce said lightly, now amused that that was all Tony had called for.

“Thanks. Okay, I’ll have to get the deal with actual negotiation, but it’ll probably be done in an hour or so.”

“Okay.” They hung up and Bruce went to tell Steve that Tony was nearly finished with the meeting.

They ended up meeting Tony at a beautiful italian restaurant, which accommodated them almost immediately despite their lack of a reservation. Bruce didn’t know if it was because of Tony or because they were Avengers. 

While they waited for their food, Tony drifted into boredom, shifting in his seat and fiddling with things on the table. For lack of anything better to do, it seemed, he started toying with Bruce. First it was just a wink in conversation, then Tony appeared to be competing with himself for dirtiest discrete innuendo. It didn’t take long for Bruce to catch on that Tony was testing the limits of Steve’s ignorance of their relationship. It was something they did on occasion to their friends, seeing how close they could come to revealing themselves without actually saying anything about it. Bruce thought about playing along, but when he saw Steve’s confused face at Tony’s strange (sexual) way of wording mundane occurrences, he decided against it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Steve to find out; he really didn’t mind either way, but Steve looked more puzzled at the innuendo rather than grasping Tony’s real meaning. Bruce knew Steve was a pretty smart guy, but he got the impression that Steve lacking in sexual knowledge, and Bruce wasn’t going to tease him for it.

When their food arrived though, Tony’s flirtations became more obvious. He moved slowly and emphasized curve of his lips around his fork, practically moaned at the taste, and maintained eye contact with Bruce as his tongue edged around his lips. Bruce forced the corners of his lips not to raise, and ended up snorting quiet laughter into his soup. He found himself unable to resist returning the gestures, exaggerating every movement of his lips and tongue, and he enjoyed Tony’s clear attention on him despite the ordinary conversation topics.. The longer it went on, the more Bruce actually hoped that Steve would catch on and say something, if only to relieve Bruce from the burden of having to watch Tony’s pseudo-orgasmic expressions over his steak and potatoes. He kept his arousal in check and sincerely hoped Tony was doing the same, otherwise leaving the restaurant might be an awkward sight.

Steve said nothing. His part of the conversation was as pleasant and oblivious as ever. He gave some insightful opinions on the Smithsonian exhibit, asked Tony what he had previously seen and wanted to see of the city, and asked about the tower construction.

“I saw pictures on the news. It looks like it’s close to finished.” Steve said.

Tony nodded. “It’s taken some extra elbow grease, but we’re making it bigger than before, pumping it full of new tech, getting ready to take in all the Avengers and some of Shield too.” He stared at Bruce and gave Steve a mere glance. His innuendos were running thin at that point, but he made up for it with a hand motion of wrapping his hand around something and pulling it up to indicate the new size proportions of the tower. He winked subtlely, and went into his usual explanation of housing for everyone, with an added lustful glance at Bruce when he mentioned the labs connecting to their shared floors. Steve didn’t even bother to ask why they were sharing their apartment when everyone else would get their own. He probably just thought it was because they worked so closely together. 

“I don’t know how often I’ll be up there.” Steve admitted. “New York doesn’t really feel like home anymore, you know? And I like DC. I asked if Shield would take me in here, rather than up there.”

“Too many memories?” Bruce asked before Tony had the chance to say something insensitive.

“Yeah. A lot of it’s the same, but everything seems so much bigger. After working the relief effort through July, I just needed to be somewhere else. Natasha thought it was funny, that Captain America was drawn to the nation’s capital.” Steve chuckled.

“Fitting.” Tony said simply. He tapped his foot against the side of Bruce’s shoe.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, but decided to cut him off before they ended up doing something stupid. “I’m gonna use the restroom. I’ll meet you outside.” He said since Tony had already paid the check. 

A slow grin spread across Tony’s face as Bruce turned to walk away. He thought that Bruce had given up their game, that he’d won. Bruce decided he would have to prove him wrong when they got back to the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May or may not add the sexytimes to this one... I like the simple ending though


	9. Unknot Some Cords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on Tony's involvement Hawkeye (2012) issue 6. I sorta just warped time a bit so it would be in 2013 instead.  
> Fraction, Matt, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth. "Six Nights in the Life of..." Hawkeye. Issue #6. p. 1-7. 2012. Print.  
> (I quoted Tony's dialogue. Please don't sue me.)

Tony really wasn’t sure why Clint had called him over. On the phone he sounded sort of panicked, but he looked fine when he answered the door. Over Clint’s shoulder, though, Tony could see that his whole apartment was in shambles. There were boxes and loose Christmas decorations coating the floor, a sad-looking Christmas tree in the corner, and Clint led him into the worst of the mess: a pile of wires, electronics, and – was that a VHS tape? Clint looked at him helplessly and sighed. “I’m kind of stuck.”

Tony looked uncertainly from the mess on the floor to Clint’s child-like expression. “I can see that.” 

“Can you help me out, man? I just want to set it up so I can watch Dog Cops, and I got this neighbor and I promised her kids and…” He trailed off, sparing Tony the story. “I don’t care if it’s perfect.” Clint picked up a few wires and the rest clung to them in a massive knot.

Tony looked around and noted that the main set of AV cables took up most of the knot, but it was already plugged into the DVR. He picked up the clunky cable box, trying to follow the cord with his eyes, but he lost it because it wasn’t the only AV set in the tangle. “Well, it’s definitely not going to be perfect; you still have a VCR.” Tony smirked.

“What?” Clint said defensively. “I’ve got all the Star Wars and Indiana Jones and most of the James Bond movies on VHS. Are you gonna mock my movie-viewing choices or help me with this?”

Tony chose the latter, but after five minutes of frustrated cord pulling, Clint ended up cutting some of the wires to free the rest. Clint didn’t have a spare cord or the tools to mend the one he cut, so Tony gave up. “Let’s just throw this stuff out and start over. We’ll get you a whole new setup and you can watch the wrap-up of Dog Cops.” 

Clint did not like that. He argued angrily that he had to fix what he had and seemed mad at Tony for threatening his junk, but Tony knew his words were covering something bigger that he really didn’t want to get into.

“I’m sorry, Clint. It’s not… It’s not that big a deal. Can I at least buy you a new AV cable?” This wasn’t really about money, but that was Clint’s excuse, and Tony wasn’t gonna make him admit to whatever was really bothering him.

Clint sighed and plopped onto the couch. “Yeah, I guess. Christmas isn’t usually the happiest time for me, if you couldn’t tell. I’m just trying to make this year better.”

“You and me both.” Tony nodded and sat down next to him to stare at the pile of electronics, moving boxes, and decorations strewn about.

Clint looked up at Tony. “Yeah, I’d forgot; last year certainly wasn’t good for you, was it?” He said it like a fact. He had seen the news. “The Mandarin. That’s a shit Villain name. Makes me think of canned oranges.” Clint snorted in a half-assed attempt to lighten the mood.

“Pepper and I broke up right after Christmas, too.” Tony mumbled. It had been on his mind for a couple weeks. The reminder that it had been a whole year and that his Christmas fuck-ups had been the icing on the failing relationship cake had him anxious about his first Christmas with Bruce. 

Clint shifted uncomfortably. “Are you uh, doing alright? Been seeing anyone else?” He asked as though he wasn’t sure he knew what he was doing or if they were friends enough to talk about this.

Clint had invited Tony over just to unknot some cords; Tony figured they could talk about their lives. “I’m good. And Pepper is too. I think she’s sleeping with my chauffeur.” He said anecdotally. He considered telling Clint about Bruce. He knew Bruce wouldn’t mind, and he was starting to get anxious about it. This was the first of Tony’s relationships since college that wasn’t public. If he was honest, that was both a huge relief and a headache for Tony since he had no idea what to expect. He wondered what Clint would say. Clint wasn’t homophobic, of course, especially if what Natasha said about him and Coulson was true, but neither of them was the sharing type, and they had already crossed the line when Clint brought up Christmas. He settled for a dry comment. “I don’t think there’s another woman in the world who could put up with me for as long as Pepper did.” It was true. There wasn’t another _woman_ … 

“Ha. You and me both.” Clint repeated Stark’s earlier phrase. 

Tony didn’t stay long. In a pang of friendly affection on his way out, he invited Clint to come to the Tower for Christmas. “It’s just me and Bruce over there anyway.” Tony said, hoping he didn’t sound like he was the lonely one. He really didn’t care if Clint came or not, but they were friends after all. 

“Thanks man, I’ll think about it. I’ve got an apartment neighborhood party thing we’re doing on the roof, but to actually do something Christmas morning… that would be nice.” Clint nodded and they said goodbye. 

Tony knew he wouldn’t actually come. It wasn’t that he was saying he might to be polite or anything. Clint wasn’t like that. They all had issues with Christmas, though, and despite them both ‘trying to make this year better,’ they would still do what they’d always done on Christmas: plough through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is Christmas.


	10. Holiday Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Tony get intimate on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait again. I've been stuck in the mental muck of switching semesters and changing schedules. Hoping to update again next week.

The living room was filled with glittering snowflakes which hung from the ceiling and garlands of holly strung on the edges of almost every surface. One large Christmas tree took up a corner of the room with its white gold baubles and shimmering lights. A few small and professionally wrapped gifts sat beneath it in front of some larger wrapped boxes which Bruce knew were just empty decorations. Tony had, of course, hired someone to decorate, and the whole room had changed literally overnight. As Bruce ascended the stairs into the decorated main living floor on the morning of Christmas Eve, he thought Tony had overdone it. Bruce had asked about it the day before, and he got the impression that Tony was only going through the holiday spiel for him. Tony had thrown him a bright smile when Bruce asked, and said “It’s our first Christmas together. I want to make it good.” Bruce remembered Tony’s breakup with Pepper this time last year and wondered if that had something to do with it, but he knew better than to bring it up. 

Tony was already in the kitchen across from the living room. Jarvis was listing off ingredients as Tony gathered them from the fridge and pantry. “Are you making breakfast?” Bruce asked as he followed his nose to the coffee maker. 

“Pancakes and omelettes.” Tony answered. “Good morning.” He stepped behind Bruce and brushed his lips over Bruce’s nape. 

“Mmm, you’re in a good mood.” Bruce turned and captured his lips for a moment.

Tony nodded and grabbed the milk from the fridge. “I’ve got a plan for today.” With Jarvis’ list completed, the room slowly filled with holiday music. “After breakfast, we’re going to have a lazy sexy holiday. No work, no Hulkbuster, no legion, no code. Just you, me, and our bed.”

Bruce chuckled. “Didn’t you say yesterday that we had to finish that code for the legion, that was our top priority and nothing else mattered until it was done?”

“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s Christmas Eve, and we’re on vacation. Did you see the living room? It’s better than last year, isn’t it?” Tony set into making pancakes. Bruce shook his head in mild exasperation and amusement and kissed Tony’s cheek. He cracked some eggs and prepped the omelettes on the other side of the stove. Tony hip checked him in time with “Jingle Bell Rock” as they cooked together. 

Bruce intended to hold Tony to his promise, so as soon as they finished eating, he backed Tony against the counter with a lascivious kiss. Tony hooked a finger into the waistband of Bruce’s sweatpants and urged Bruce closer. Bruce hadn’t worn a shirt to bed the night before, so his bare chest pressed against Tony’s soft T-shirt, and he felt Tony’s rising heart rate. 

“Leave the dishes. Jarvis can call someone.” Tony panted. 

Bruce marveled at how Tony could think of calling a maid service to wash their dishes. “I’ll do them later.” He countered, thinking of the poor people who would otherwise have to work on Christmas Eve.

Bruce led him with a hand on his lower back down the stairs, through their private living space, and into the bedroom. He kicked the door closed and tugged the hem of Tony’s shirt to indicate its unwelcome presence between them. Tony threw it off and did away with his shorts as well to allow Bruce full access as he lay back on the bed. Bruce gazed unabashedly at the soft lines of muscle down Tony’s abdomen and the short curls surrounding his rapidly growing erection. Bruce crawled over him, his legs straddling Tony’s thighs, and licked eagerly into his mouth. Tony responded immediately with a hand pushed beneath Bruce’s waistband to fondle his ass. Tony bucked up with a smirk. “Are you gonna fuck me, or what?”

“Dildo still needs to be cleaned from the other night, so I’m gonna go with ‘or what’ on this one.” Bruce mumbled as he pressed his lips to Tony’s chest and his clothed groin to Tony’s stiff cock. Bruce wasn’t as fond of the dildo as Tony was anyway. He loved seeing Tony come undone under his ministrations, but without getting to be inside him, Bruce felt the experience was lacking intimacy. Bruce discarded his pants while Tony procured two condoms from the nightstand. 

“Lay on your back.” Tony requested after they were both sheathed in latex. Bruce spread his legs as he did what he was told. Tony sucked on his own finger before sliding into Bruce. It was tight, but Bruce was well used to the feeling and knew the pleasure that would soon follow. Bruce propped himself on his elbows to watch as Tony lowered his head and replaced the finger with his tongue. Bruce felt the warm, slick muscle probing him with tender licks. He tried not to think about the potential risk of the contact; he knew the chance of any harm here was less than 1%, and he let that calm him as he relished the heat of his lover’s tongue. Before long, Tony rose and pushed two fingers into him. He leaned forward and took Bruce’s cock with his free hand. 

Bruce cupped Tony’s face in his hand. “Get inside me.” He said gently, like he was asking a favor. 

“Gladly.” Tony slicked himself with lube in two strokes and pushed into Bruce’s ass for the third. Bruce couldn’t hold back a moan as he felt Tony’s cock fill him. Tony fell forward over Bruce’s heaving chest, and Bruce hooked his legs around him. Tony moved slowly, and Bruce found himself instinctively counting his heartbeats. He lost count as Tony’s movements worked him up, but the other guy remained quiet in his head. He was wondering why he was still concerned every time after doing this for ten months, but then Tony angled into his prostate and all thoughts were lost to the heat of that moment. His eyes closed and his hand found his cock to work with Tony’s thrusts. 

Tony kissed him and panted, “Hey, look at me, gorgeous. I’m-” He paused and hummed a low moan. “I’m really close. Can you come with me? I want to see your face.”

Bruce grunted and nodded, jerking himself harder. Tony pulled out almost completely before slamming back in. Bruce let out a filthy moan as Tony brushed his prostate as he pulled back to do it again. Bruce pulled him in with his legs to drive him deeper, and he felt Tony pulsing inside him as he came with Bruce’s name on his lips. As if waiting for that signal, Bruce shuddered through his own orgasm not a moment later. He arched his back and nudged his prostate in the process. Tony’s mouth hung open as they rocked through the aftershocks.

Bruce barely heard Tony’s whisper of “So beautiful” as they came down, but it was there, just for him. Bruce’s legs dropped back to the mattress so Tony could pull out. Bruce removed his condom and closed his eyes, allowing Tony to take it and drop it into a bag with his own. 

Bruce felt the mattress dip when Tony returned to lay beside him. “How’s that for a lazy sexy holiday?” Bruce mumbled. 

Tony’s arm snaked over Bruce’s stomach and held him possessively. “Perfect. Let’s do it again in the shower.”

“Nap first. That’s the lazy part.” Bruce turned and nuzzled into Tony’s neck. Tony hummed his agreement.

**

In the early afternoon of Christmas Day, Bruce and Tony were cuddled together in the living room listening to instrumental Christmas songs and enjoying each others company outside of the lab for once. They had already exchanged gifts, an indestructible custom StarkWatch for Bruce, and a blueprint for a stealth cover plate system for Tony’s latest armor, along with the plans for quiet and theoretically invisible flight stabilizers for Tony. Bruce had admittedly taken the base for the plans from Tony’s existing blueprints when Tony wasn’t looking, and he had left a few blanks in the equations for the flight stabilizers that he wasn’t quite able to work out on his own, but he knew Tony would pick it up and make adjustments everywhere anyway. The gift was less in the actual blueprint and more in the gesture of Bruce’s support of the idea of a stealth Iron Man after having half-jokingly argued against it for so long.

Bruce’s train of thought was interrupted when the music slowed and the song changed. He registered the song as a piano and saxophone rendition of “Let it Snow,” and it pulled back memories as he listened.

Bruce was never a very big fan of Christmas. He hadn’t actually celebrated since he was a kid, if one could even call hiding from his father under the tree a celebration. His mother always tried to soothe things over, and Bruce did get one or two –usually disappointing– gifts, but his father inevitably got drunk, and Bruce would ‘always have his nose in a damned book instead of playing outside like a normal boy’ which only led to fists and bruises. Those repressed memories only ever resurfaced when Bruce saw hints of ‘holiday spirit’ around him. It was one of the good things about being on the run; he didn’t have to deal with holidays.

“My mom loved this song.” Tony pulled Bruce from his thoughts.

“Really?” Tony had never talked about his mother before. 

Tony’s face softened and he looked away wistfully. “She always sang along when it came on the radio, and when I was a kid she would pick me up and spin me around. This one and that other one… ‘Winter Wonderland’.” He nodded. Christmas music, despite its cheery sound, only reminded Bruce that his life was never as happy and normal as the songs. 

“I didn’t used to like Christmas music.” Bruce admitted.

Tony thought about that before asking, “What changed?”

Bruce met his eyes and felt his face burn slightly. “You.”

Tony tilted his head and eyed Bruce skeptically. “I made you like Christmas music?”

Bruce chuckled and leaned in to kiss him. Tony’s tongue met his briefly before Bruce eased back. “I used to only think about … my past when I heard these songs.” He said vaguely. “Now, I can think of you, us, here and now.” He caught himself in a small smile. 

“Bruce.” Tony looked at him straight on with a pensive look that he rarely had outside of the lab or garage. “You know I love you, right?” Tony asked. It wasn’t rhetorical either; he sounded as though he genuinely wasn’t sure.

Bruce furrowed his brow in concern. “Of course. I love you too.” The words were surprisingly easy to say, though Bruce had known it was true for at least a few months. Neither of them were very verbal about their feelings, preferring instead to show emotion with affectionate gestures and physical intimacy.

Tony brightened somewhat to hear Bruce say it, but he clearly had something else on his mind. “I know it’s kind of late in the game for that, but with everything we’ve been through … we were talking about shitty family experiences yesterday, and we’ve been to hell and back together, and I just needed you to know that, no matter what –and I mean that literally, whatever happens– you have me.”

At first, Bruce wasn’t entirely sure he could say the same. Despite his love and comfort and apparent safety, there was still a piece of Bruce that felt like running. He couldn’t guarantee that if things went south with the Avengers or the Hulk, that he wouldn’t want to take off. He knew it would break his heart to leave now, though. He pushed that thought back with the knowledge that without his father, without General Ross, without Shield chasing him, he had nothing to run from anymore except himself, and Tony was helping him with that too. Bruce touched Tony’s cheek and kissed him. Everything Bruce had, all the good he’d ever felt, all the holiday spirit he’d never had in past years, all the love he possessed, he pressed into Tony’s lips. 

When they finally broke apart, Bruce felt a decision that he hadn’t consciously made. He could never leave Tony. If he ever had to run, he would run to Tony, not away. 

“Merry Christmas.” Bruce whispered simply, and for once in his life, he truly felt that the sentiment was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's going to be a big timeline jump between this chapter and the next one, so I recommend taking a look at the timeline, which is listed at the first work in this series, especially if you've been reading other works in the series.


	11. Many More to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A special date.

The day went by like any other. Tony hadn’t even looked at a calendar. As usual, he’d avoided SI business from Pepper, busied himself with Iron Legion blueprints, tinkered with his new suit’s stealth feature, and then collapsed on the couch in the evening with Bruce. He wouldn’t have known anything was different about the day if Bruce hadn’t given him that look. 

Bruce sat facing him on the couch in their private living room with a half loving, half smug smile, and Tony knew he must have forgotten something important. Was he supposed to make dinner? It wasn’t Bruce’s birthday, not that Bruce would make a big deal out of that anyway. Tony stared back at Bruce blankly until his mind fell across the date. February 8th, 2014. Exactly one year since their ‘sleeping arrangement’ became more of a lovemaking arrangement. 

Tony decided honesty would be best here. “Was I supposed to get you something? Please tell me you didn’t get me something.”

Bruce took Tony’s hand and gently rubbed the back of his palm with his thumb. “You didn’t have to get me anything, no. Honestly I only just realized the date an hour ago, but you’ve got to admit, it is pretty impressive.”

“What is?” Tony could think of a few things, but held back.

“That we made it this far. That we haven’t had any huge fights or problems with the Other Guy or ‘noise complaints’ from the gang. I’m impressed at us. And I’m happy.”

Tony looked sheepishly at their hands, for once keeping his mouth shut in fear of saying the wrong thing and ruining their moment. Then he said simply, “I’m happy too.” After a moment and a short, sweet kiss, he thought of the right thing to say. He picked up his beer and held it out until Bruce did the same with his glass of tea. “One year down,” they tapped their drinks together lightly, “and many more to go.”

"Happy anniversary."


	12. News from Capsicle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve calls with news about the Winter Soldier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where we really start to bring in the other Avengers. If you're not reading the other works in the series (or even if you are), I recommend looking at the timeline so you're not lost. It was difficult to make it stand alone, and I apologize for any remaining confusing surrounding the events. There are a few large time skips ahead, and while I try to explain everything within the story, it's not easy to do without disturbing the points of view. 
> 
> This chapter touches on some of the same themes as Civil War, but since this whole series takes place long before even Age of Ultron, those themes are coincidental because they involve Bucky.
> 
> TL:DR - Check the timeline.

Tony’s heart was slamming in his chest and sweat poured from his brow, but he kept throwing punches. Natasha side-stepped and blocked them easily, letting him use her as a moving target rather than a sparring mate. Tony wasn’t sure if that was actually saving his dignity or not, but it kept him from getting his ass handed to him either way. A few times she had feigned a counter just to see his reaction. Even though he was able to dodge them, he stepped back and eyed her with distrust all the same. He remembered clearly the outcome of the first (and last) time she sparred with him. 

Tony was in the middle of a jab lineup that he was sure would get her when Jarvis interrupted them. “Captain Rogers is calling, sir.”

Tony quickly decided that the interruption was for the best, judging by Nat’s sly expression, so he stepped back and caught his breath. “Put him through, Jarvis.” 

“Hey Cap, you’re on speaker with Nat. Did you rethink my invitation?” Tony said after a moment.

“Hi. Uh, no, and I think you’re probably going to retract it… I’ve got a bit of a situation here. Remember what we talked about last week, and why I moved back to New York?”

Tony took a drink from a water bottle and looked at Natasha. She was Steve’s best friend, and she had been through the Hydra shit with Steve, so Tony figured she knew what Steve was referring to. “Yeah. Did you find your uh… friend?” Tony wasn’t sure if that was the right word for Barnes anymore, considering he nearly killed Steve less than two weeks ago, but that’s what Steve had called him when he talked to Tony before moving. 

“Not exactly.” Steve paused suspiciously. “He found me.” 

Tony froze. “Where are you?” He demanded. Natasha furrowed her brow and fixed Tony with a cautioning stare.

“I’m in my apartment. It’s okay. He’s not- Well, he’s not Hydra’s anymore. I told you, he pulled me from the river, he’s confused, but he’s still Bucky…. He slept here last night.”

Natasha spoke up. “Steve, I know he was your friend, but are you sure that’s a good idea? He could be planning something, or even if he’s not, we don’t know what his training was or what kind of triggers they put in his head. He could snap and attack you again.”

“I think if he were going to, he would have done it last night. I stayed up most of the night waiting for it. He just slept.” Steve said.

Tony sat on a weight bench, exhausted. “You realize that you’re harboring a wanted murderer, right? I mean, yeah he was probably brainwashed, but he still killed all those people. Captain America is breaking the law.” Tony feigned shock, but he really didn’t expect much else. If this guy was so important to Steve, it wouldn’t matter what he did; Steve would try to help.

Steve sighed. “Well that’s sort of why I’m calling you, Tony. I know you can access his files, and I was hoping you might be able to find something about what happened to him, maybe to help his case. As it is, he’s in hiding here. I guess I am too, technically. But if we can exonerate him, no matter what Hydra did to him, he deserves a second chance.”

“Exonerate him?” Tony said incredulously. “Steve, he needs to go on trial for that. I mean, I’m not saying I can’t help, but if word gets into the wrong hands, there’ll be an uprising.”

“I know, but you should see him, Tony. He looks like a starving dog got dragged through a warzone. He’s got this journal; he’s writing out his thoughts and memories as they come back to him, and he seems to have gotten better every day. He may not be the same as when I knew him, but he’s still there. I have to do something. He’s my friend.”

“That all sounds good, but we need to be sure he’s not going to relapse or try to go back to Hydra.” Natasha said.

Steve was silent for a moment before saying, “I was actually hoping you could come see him tomorrow, Nat. It’s not like I can have Shield evaluate him, but you know all the procedures, and you know more about the kind of thing he’s been through…”

“You want me to be his shrink?” She looked doubtful.

“Yeah, sorry, I guess that was too much to hope for.” Steve admitted.

Nat looked at the floor and pursed her lips. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. Are you okay though, Steve?”

“Ha. I’m kind of a wreck. But that’s nothing new. Thank you, both of you.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow I guess.” Nat sighed.

“Take care of yourself, Cap.” Tony said before they hung up.

A heavy silence fell over them. “Do you really think you can dig up anything to help his case?” Nat asked quietly after a minute.

“Who knows. Finding the information won’t be too hard, but I don’t know if he’ll like what I find. Are you really gonna be able to give him a psyche eval tomorrow?” Tony countered.

“It’ll be weird, I’m sure, but what else can I do? It’s Steve.” She nodded and turned towards the door. “I’ve got to talk to Sam. Jarvis, is Sam done moving boxes around?”

“He is finished with the boxes and is now organizing his books. Shall I tell him you’re on your way?” Jarvis responded.

“Yes. Thanks for letting us stay here, Tony. I know Sam wasn’t exactly invited.”

Tony shrugged. “It’s nothing. If he’s gonna be one of us, he should be here too.”

Tony left shortly after Natasha did, heading towards the lab. Bruce was engrossed in a bioengineering project aiming to build affordable neurologically connected prosthetic limbs. Tony suspected he’d been weirdly inspired by the news footage of the Winter Soldier. Tony had to admit, if the guy did turn out to be normal again like Cap said, he would be very interested in getting a look at his bionic arm. Considering it came from Hydra, which was well known for keeping tremendous scientific advancements under wraps, Tony wouldn’t be surprised if the arm was better engineered than his own work. He was jealous of that tech, and he couldn’t help but want to get his hands on it. 

Bruce didn’t notice him walk in. Tony thought about surprising him by embracing him from behind or kissing his neck, but he knew what it was like to be so focused on work and knew that Bruce wouldn’t appreciate being startled into misplacing something. He waited until Bruce finished dropping a bright blue liquid into a petri dish full of what looked like iron filings and straightened up before greeting him. “Hey handsome, got a minute?”

Bruce looked up in surprise and glanced between his work tables and Tony before responding. “Sure, what’s up?”

“I’ve got some news from Capsicle.”

“About the Winter Soldier, I assume?”

“Steve’s got him in his apartment.” Tony said matter-of-factly.

Bruce’s eyes widened. “Well, you’re not suiting up, so I’m guessing he has a handle on it… What happened?”

“Nothing, apparently. Steve found him last night, and I guess he’s gone soft or is pretending to at least because Cap said he slept in the guest room last night with no incident.” 

“Well that doesn’t mean we can trust him. If anyone would be easy on him, it would be Steve. Has he told anyone? Other than you?”

“I don’t think so. Natasha’s going to have a look at him tomorrow though, psyche eval sort of thing. I can’t imagine he’s got anything good going on in his head, but Steve seemed to think he was pretty normal. Called him ‘Bucky’ again.”

Bruce bit his lip. “Do you think he’s missing something? Steve knew Barnes better than anyone. If there was something wrong, he would know it … unless hope is clouding his vision.”

Tony suspected the latter. Steve wasn’t blind, but he had a tendency to see mostly good in the people he trusted. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.” Tony leaned against a desk next to Bruce. “Cap wants me to dig up dirt on him and Hydra to help get him exonerated without a trial.” 

Bruce leaned into Tony’s side and sucked his teeth. “Do you think you can?”

“I don’t know if there’s any good information to find.” Tony said honestly. “But thanks to Nat, all of Shield and Hydra’s cats have been de-bagged, so whatever is out there, it shouldn’t be hard to find. I bet it won’t take long for the media to reveal his identity either. I guess I should make a few phone calls, pull a few strings.”

“It would be a lot easier if Hydra hadn’t taken Shield down with them.” Bruce looked up at him. “But you helped them get Ross off my back, and I was previously known as a mass murdering rage monster, so this should be easy.” Bruce said cynically and kissed him on the cheek. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Tony nodded and walked to his own lab to get down to business.


	13. Our Favorite Geriatrics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky come to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been inserted after publishing the chapter after it. If you're confused, don't worry about it. If you're coming back after reading the later chapters, know that this falls a few weeks after Bucky showed up in New York.

Tony shoved the push broom across the floor of the workshop, clearing out physical and holographic debris. He couldn’t believe the difference cleaning up his workspace had made. His files were newly sorted, all the clutter was gone, his old armor was shined and set against a wall for inspiration, along with a few prototypes for the new Iron Legion. The organized space gave him a clear head too, and looking around the room, he now felt that old familiar spark of inspiration. 

“Hey, Dum-E, come help me with this.” He called to his bot. He strode over to one of the Legion prototypes and, with Dum-E’s help, moved it to a freshly cleaned stainless steel worktable. He grabbed an electric screwdriver and was about to start working when Bruce entered.

“Wow! So did you just build a whole new room, or...?” Bruce asked sarcastically.

“Funny. What’s up?”

“Steve and Bucky are here. Remember Steve said he might drop by?”

Tony furrowed his brow. “I don’t remember that, but okay. Why are they here?”

“Steve wants to show Bucky around, I guess give him other people to talk to besides him and Natasha.”

Tony deflated a little and set down the screwdriver. “Suppose I can give them a tour.”

Bruce followed behind Tony as they went up to greet their friends. When Tony was ahead of him on the stairs, he playfully smacked Tony’s butt. 

“Oh so we’re going there now?” Tony asked teasingly.

“I wouldn’t mind turning in that direction.” Bruce poked Tony in the ribs and kissed his cheek. 

Tony giggled but kept walking. “Not in front of the ‘grandparents’!” He grinned.

They turned the corner and Steve stood in the hall by the elevator with his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. The man Bruce could only assume was Bucky Barnes stood next to him with his shoulders turned in slight slouch, staring deeply at Steve, as though he was a wonder of the world, which he kind of was. Bruce wondered if that’s what he looked like when he looked at Tony; he sometimes felt like he did. 

“Oh, look, it’s our favorite geriatrics!” Tony said. 

“Tony, good to see you again. And you, Dr Banner.” Steve smiled politely. “This is my good friend, Bucky. Bucky, this is Tony Stark, Howard’s son, and Dr Bruce Banner.”

“He looks like Howard.” Bucky mumbled, and then louder, “You look like Howard.”

“I’ve heard. I’ve also heard that you were, excuse me, are one of the greatest marksmen in the world. Care to prove it?”

“Stark, can we not?” Steve said tersely.

“Not what? I’m offering him the use of our shooting range. I’m sure he’d enjoy it.”

Bruce noticed a slight twitch in Bucky’s right forefinger, an itch for a trigger? “Tony, why don’t we give them a tour and maybe save the weaponry for another time.”  
Tony shrugged, “Sure thing. Everything’s new. This is our base living floor. The next two floors down are private workshops and laboratories, with an Avengers-only clinic in the center of both floors. On this floor, we’ve got common living space for the whole gang. Kitchen, dining room, living room, game room, and gym.” Tony guided them along, pointing at the doors and hallways leading to each room. He led them into the kitchen, which had a semi open floor plan, so that if they stood at the bar of the kitchen, they were right next to the huge dark wood dining table and could see the sunken living room on the far end of the room, with a half-walled ‘game room’ between. The gym was through a door on the left. The tall windows on the right meant the room was filled with natural light, so electric lighting was only needed at night.

Tony took them through the gym, and made more playful attempts to draw Bucky out. 

“Everything in here is brand new; I designed some of it myself. There’s training programs in the room back there, holographic targets, hand-to-hand training, virtual reality superhero training, for if you ever feel like really joining the good side.” He winked at Bucky. “I heard you’ve never lost a sparring match. I’d like to see you go up against the holo sparring program.”

“You seem to have heard a lot about me, Stark.” Bucky smirked. Bruce fought a laugh at the snarky confrontation. He sensed that these two would become either best buddies or worst enemies. Bruce hoped for the former.

Tony just shrugged. “There’s a pretty big gossip train on you.”

“You read my file.” Bucky said, matter of factly.

“Forgive me if I want to know who’s shacking up with my fellow Avengers.” He glanced at Steve, then turned and continued the tour upstairs. “Next are the apartment floors. Yours is second, above Bruce, below Natasha and Sam.” 

Tony and Bruce left them to chill out on Steve’s floor. “You were really holding back, there. I’m surprised you didn’t show him the armory.” Bruce deadpanned as they made their way back to the main floor. 

“Was that a pun? Please tell me you meant that as a pun.” Tony laughed lightly.

Bruce sighed, having realized his mistake, but played it like he meant it. “Yeah, that’s a pun. I suppose it was a good way of gauging him. He seems pretty well adjusted.”

“You think so?” Tony’s tone suggested he disagreed.

Bruce slid into the corner of the sunken living room sofa. “Well he’s no more unstable than you or me, so yeah. ‘It’s a hard knock life.’” He said half sing-song. 

Tony dropped onto the sofa next to Bruce, so that their legs were touching, but their bodies weren’t so close as to suggest anything if Steve and Bucky walked in. “Hmm. He’s pretty quiet. And we don’t know what’s going on in his head.”

“You could say the same of me, you know.” Bruce ran the knuckle of his forefinger up and down Tony’s arm. “I think you should re-invite them to move in.”

Tony turned to face Bruce. “You really think we can trust him?”

“I think we can trust Steve. And if anything does happen, we’re better equipped to handle it here than they are at Steve’s place in Brooklyn.” 

“That’s true.” Tony pushed his bottom lip up like he always did before he avoided admitting he was wrong. “Alright. But you tell them. I’m gonna go back to the shop.” He gave Bruce a quick peck on the lips as he got up to go.

When Steve and Bucky came down a few minutes later, Bruce pulled Steve aside while Bucky went ahead to the garage. “Hey, now that you guys are pretty well settled together, we want to sort of remind you that, well, that apartment isn’t there just for looks. You guys can move in any time you want.”

“Thanks, Bruce.” Steve lit up and seemed glad for the offer, like he was hoping for it when they came. “We’ll see you around.” They clasped hands and Bruce barely escaped the roar of Steve’s motorcycle echoing through the garage.


	14. Keeping Things Hidden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a mission, Clint and Phil reveal that they're dating, which puts extra pressure on Bruce and Tony for having not yet come out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't been reading any other works in this series, this one is a little bit of an info-dump. As always, check the timeline if you're lost.

Tony slammed the last of his glass of water and collapsed on the bed. As he snuggled under the sheets, Bruce could still smell the booze on his breath despite Tony having brushed his teeth before the water. He figured Tony would pass out the second he hit the mattress, and after the long day they’d had, Bruce wanted to do the same, but Tony was still tipsy. 

“Well that all was unexpected.” Tony mumbled into Bruce’s shoulder. The mission that night had been a complete success with minor injuries for the Avengers and Shield, but as usual, it did not go according to plan. Everything had been going smoothly: They’d gotten into the Hydra base without incident, taken out their agents quickly and quietly, and Tony and Bruce had been able to just waltz into the hangar to destroy the Hydra weapons and vehicles. Bruce let out the Hulk, and according to Tony they played rather nicely, with the other guy crushing anything Iron Man pointed to, with only a ‘perfectly good rocket launcher’ and a Jeep as unnecessary collateral damage. It apparently took a while to calm the Hulk down, but Bruce was back in time to ride the quinjet back to the Tower. It had been a long time since Bruce didn’t feel guilty after a transformation, so he called that a win. 

In the debriefing though, they found out that things hadn’t gone so easily with the rest of the team. The plan had been to take out the whole base, first with the main floor, then the hangar, and finally the basement, which held one of Hydra’s head bioengineers. Morgan Clark had created a gang of lizard creatures with abilities tailored to take out the Avengers. When the team reached his hideout though, the newly inducted Avenger, the Winter Soldier, snuck around and gutted Clark despite their orders to take him alive. Apparently, Barnes had killed him in revenge because Clark was responsible for a good deal of the Winter Soldier’s torture in Hydra. Fortunately, he was the only loss of the whole mission. A few of them had gunshot wounds, with the worst being a bullet in the thigh of one of the Shield agents. Nat, Thor, and a few others had injuries, but everyone made it out in one piece. 

The real surprise was in the post-mission party. Bruce had a throbbing headache since coming out of his transformation, so he hadn’t been paying much attention, but he still heard Steve practically shout “You’re dating Coulson?” across the table to Clint. Subsequently, Clint and Phil were forced to announce that they were dating, and Tony, being Tony, had to make a big deal out of it. Bruce tried to discourage him, but he was proud of himself for even being awake and present at the party, so he wasn’t trying too hard. 

Bruce had to agree with Tony’s sentiment. “Have they really only been together for six weeks?” 

“Tha’s what Clint said.” Tony shrugged.

Bruce looked at Tony and hoped he was sober enough for the coming conversation. “I think we ought to tell them about us. With them out, we have no reason not to.”

Tony shrugged awkwardly as he lay on his side. “We never had a reason. It’ll be hell if we tell everyone how long we’ve been together. They’ll think we hid it.”

“We sort of did.”

“Two weeks ago, Clint walked in while I had you against a wall in the hall. I don’t think he had his hearing aid on, but that’s not our fault. You’d think spies and assassins would be more observant.” Tony scoffed.

“That doesn’t change our situation. I suppose we can act as though we thought they already knew, but we shouldn’t hide it anymore.”

The next morning, Tony was up and gone when Bruce woke. Bruce went down to the common floor’s kitchen where Steve was making scrambled eggs for Bucky, Phil, and Thor. Nat was usually doing an early workout at that hour, and Clint and the other Shield agents were probably sleeping in.

“Where’s Tony?” Bruce asked as he slid onto a barstool.

“Probably in one of the labs. He said something about keeping things hidden.” Bucky shrugged. 

“I think he was gonna look around for more hidden Hydra bases.” Steve added.

“That’s not a bad idea, but he should eat some breakfast. He hardly ate anything last night.” Bruce had also been hoping to give him a good morning kiss in front of the others to spare him from actually have to tell them. He guessed there would be other chances. And they weren’t really in any rush.


	15. The Real Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce does science, things are revealed, Tony goes on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for going on hiatus without warning. I really didn't see it coming. Time just kept moving and I fell behind. I won't give you false hopes for regular future postings, but I want you to know that I have not given up. As a reward for your patience, this chapter is decently long with a lot of good stuff packed in.

Tony knocked lightly on the doorframe of Bruce’s lab. He knew Bruce was in here, but the lights were dimmed and he could only see the silhouettes of lab counters, microscopes, and chemical testing apparatuses. He stepped into the room and saw Bruce’s shape bent over an unlit microscope. 

“Babe, come look at this.” Bruce waved him over without looking up from the lens. Tony raised an eyebrow and shoved his hands in his pockets as he did what he was told. Bruce stepped aside to let Tony look into the lens. In the closed petri dish under the scope, Tony saw what looked like some sort of organic tissue that was glowing bright blue. “It’s bone tissue, a sample from a child with osteosarcoma that required amputation of her arm. I was attempting to fuse the tissue to a scrap of stainless steel with a chemical compound that should mimic the muscle tissue around it. That would make it so that the manufactured muscles and nerves could seamlessly connect to the real living tissue. When I tested the compound on the tissue, it worked like I expected, but it also did that! It glows blue! I looked at the chemical makeups of the compound and the tissue and I can’t figure out how it would cause bioluminescence. I must be missing something, but it’s incredible, isn’t it?”

Tony looked up and could only marvel at Bruce’s brilliance. He lay a hand on Bruce’s cheek and covered Bruce’s grin with his lips. “You are incredible. You’re gonna give kids glowing blue limbs. They’ll love it.”

Bruce chuckled. “What about adults?”

“Can you honestly tell me that it would not be super cool to have a blue leg?”

“Yes. Especially if it glows. Although, waking up to pee would be easier; I could see without turning on the light.” Bruce fumbled with a notebook for a second before sighing. “I’ll work it out later. Let’s go get lunch.” Bruce stored the sample and followed Tony out. 

Tony’s steps bounced anxiously as he was finally able to get to his reason for interrupting Bruce’s work. “So guess what Rogers just told me.” 

“No idea.” Bruce casually linked his fingers with Tony’s while they walked.

“He and Bucky are actually doin it. He asked me what to do.”

Bruce looked bewildered. “Like, what to do with Bucky? … in bed?”

“No, I don’t think they’d have much trouble in that department. I told him they should come out when we do the Today Show on Tuesday.” 

“Oh. Well, what about the Tonight Show? You’re still booked, are you gonna talk about us after all that in the morning?”

“Yeah. It’s big news, sure, but we’ve been holding onto it for so long. When’s the last time we had a date without worrying about cameras? I’m not having it anymore, Bruce. I’m not gonna enjoy it, but I’m gonna come out.”

* * *

Tony closed the door to the greenroom and wrestled with the urge to call Bruce. What if Bruce changed his mind? Maybe he hadn’t wanted to tell people outright because he just didn’t want people to know. They had talked about it enough, though. Tony was just anxious. He knew they both wanted this, he just didn’t want to have to do it. Not for the first time, he wished he hadn’t grown up in the spotlight. It at least gave him experience though, unlike the rest of the Avengers in the floundering Today Show interview that morning. Tony had done a thousand of these before without a sweat. But, none of those had the pressure of revealing a secret like this. Even the famous Iron Man reveal hadn’t shaken him this much. That one wasn’t nearly as personal. He sat on the couch and put his face in his hands, willing himself not to run his hands through his perfectly styled hair.

He needed a drink.

He’d forced himself to stop stress-drinking when he realized how uncomfortable it made Bruce. It was something about growing up with an abusive alcoholic father, and Tony could relate to that. He stood up and grabbed a bottle of water instead. But in his nervous state, the cool liquid on his lips threatened to stir other anxious memories of a tub in a cave with his heart tethered to a car battery. 

He gave up. He had his phone pressed to his ear before he could even finish the thought.

“Tony? Aren’t you filming?” Bruce’s smooth voice washed through the phone and Tony already felt himself calming. 

“Hey Honey, I’ve got 20 minutes.” He tried to sound casual, realizing that he was being ridiculous, needing Bruce like this, but the tightness in his voice gave him away.

It’s gonna be alright. You remember what I said yesterday, right?” Bruce managed to sound soothing without being condescending, for which Tony was grateful.

Tony snorted, “If this doesn’t work out, we can liquidize our assets and move to Brazil.”

“No, before that.” Bruce said lightly, a soft smile evident in his tone. “You don’t need anybody to tell you what to say. You would ignore them anyway. Just say what comes to you. The truth. Or whatever feels right. And if you decide not to do it, then just talk about Iron Man. You can do this, Tony. As much as I’d like to, you don’t need me to hold your hand.”

Tony sighed. Bruce was always right. “I love you.”

“I know. I love you too. Now stop worrying, go tape a good show, and then come home and we’ll watch our friends reactions. I bet Nat and Clint’s will be funny.”

Tony tried to latch onto that lightheartedness. “If Steve hadn’t just come out himself, I’d say he’d flip. Hell, he still might. Thanks Bruce.”

“Bye.” They disconnected, and Tony was left to fidget until he was called on.

The lights, the crowd, even Jimmy Fallon, Tony was prepared for. The only thing left was what he would say. As he sat down on the set, they exchanged greetings. Tony waved politely to the studio audience and the cameras and Jimmy started.

“So you and the Avengers have been in all the gossip lately!” Jimmy said once the audience settled. 

“I know!” Tony gave a sarcastic jaw drop, figuring he could give them the drama they surely wanted. “It’s like nobody has anything more interesting to talk about.”

“Well I think it’s pretty interesting. I saw the Today Show this morning, that looked intense! And then Cap and Bucky came out!” Fallon turned to the cameras. “Did you all see that? Captain America and Bucky Barnes announced they’re dating, and I’ve gotta say, it was a real treat to see you all together like that. You’re all really friends?”

“Of course,” Tony shrugged. It was hard to believe that the public didn’t know the Avengers were friends. They do live together, after all. “You know it’s kind of hard to save the world with a bunch of people and not be friends afterward.”

“That’s a good point. So before we move on, ‘cause I do want to ask you about some Stark Industries and Iron Man things, but this morning after the Today Show, you called us and gave us a warning.” Here it came. Tony knew he would bring it up this way, and he regretted having made the call. “You said you’ve got something big to tell us, but we’re not allowed to make a big deal out of it. Before you tell us, what do you mean by a big deal? Because you know, it’s not like we’re notorious for blowing things out of proportion or anything.” Jimmy faked a sheepish smile. “Is it a surprise? Is it gonna scare me? What is it? What _shouldn’t_ I do?”

“Ha, yeah, pretty much what you’re doing right now,” Tony said flatly, following it up his trademark grin. He decided to combat Fallon’s false nervousness with casual confidence. Not that that was unusual for him anyway. “So last week, my good friends Clint and Phil announced that they’re together; this morning Steve and Bucky came out; so in the spirit of getting things out in the open, –and I want to note that my secret keeping skills are way better than theirs–” 

Tony felt as if time stopped for a moment. He could spit out any random secret here and no one would notice. If he said it, there would be no turning back. No way to claim it as a joke. His celebrity spotlight would forever be rainbow colored. The usual paparazzi would double. They might be attacked, and not just on twitter. But what choice did he have? It was this or hide. And if they were ever found out later, they’d be labeled as cowards for not coming out when everyone else did. He had to say it. 

“Dr Bruce Banner and myself have been an item for over a year now, and no one ever noticed.”

Tony heard some actual gasps. For a second, everyone was in silent shock. Fallon, doing his duty as host, exclaimed “No way. You’re joking!” 

Tony sighed with a smile. “No jokes. We got together in February last year.” He had to pause because the audience suddenly erupted with applause. People seemed to be genuinely proud of him, just for saying those few words. He waited until they calmed and continued. “We didn’t really intend to keep the secret for so long, but nobody noticed, even the other Avengers didn’t realize we’ve been sharing a bedroom since before they moved in.” The atmosphere seemed to be lifting pressure off of Tony with every second, and he couldn’t resist poking fun. He winked into the camera. “Great observational skills guys. So we just didn’t bother saying anything, figuring it would come up eventually, but one thing led to another, and we thought it was time.”

“So Tony Stark is gay? Man, you really had us fooled.” Fallon gaped.

Now this would be the real test. If he didn’t handle this right, he could be in trouble. “I’m not gay. Bisexual, pansexual, whatever you want to call it, I like all kinds of people.” He hoped it sounded smoother than he felt.

“Ok, so bisexual, but anybody who knows your name knows you as a ladies’ man. So are you a man's man too, or had you just not dated as many guys? Before Dr. Banner, I mean.”

Tony had to laugh. “Come on, Jimmy. Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I’ve been pretty private in this, mostly out of necessity. Very few people knew. But, yeah, ladies’ man, man’s man, queer man, whatever.” This pretending to be casual was starting to work even on Tony. Maybe if he didn’t make it a big deal, other people wouldn’t either.

“Well it sounds like Bruce has had a lot of competition then. How did you two get together?”

Tony suddenly turned serious. “He hasn’t had any competition. I don’t do that anymore. I wouldn’t trade Bruce for anybody. He’s . . .” This would be hard. How much could he give away? “He sort of saved me from my own self destruction. He is everything to me. I wish everyone could see him the way I do. Honestly though, I liked him, _wanted him_ , since the day he and I met. He’s a genius, probably smarter than me, but he’s incredibly humble and most people only see him as the Hulk. He does have that in him, but Bruce, the man he really is, is amazing.”

Tony stopped and only just realized how much he’d just said. The audience clapped and ‘aww’ed at him, and Fallon said “You’re really in love with him, aren’t you?”

“I am.” Tony nodded. He didn’t want that to take over the show, though. “Do you want to know what he’s working on? It’s incredible; it’ll blow your mind.”

“Yeah!” Jimmy perked up and the audience followed suit.

“He’s taken a break from nuclear physics to work on bioengineering advanced electronic prosthetics. The most challenging thing in prosthetics is connecting the mechanism to the nervous system so that it can not only move, but also receive sensory input, touch, temperature, pain, the same way a real limb would, and Bruce is doing that. Everything’s still experimental, but it is miles ahead of other projects in the bioengineering field. People have been trying to do this for years. You know, Stark Industries has always been a leader for scientific and inventive discoveries, but Bruce Banner is gonna change the world.”

“That is awesome. I bet he will, and I can’t wait to see it. Hey, we’re gonna take a break, but when we come back, will you tell us more about those amazing Stark Industries projects and your plans for Iron Man?”

“Sure.” Tony flashed another grin before the cameras cut out.

The rest of the interview was a blur. Tony only had to answer basic questions about SI’s public projects and give a mild confirmation that he was still working as Iron Man with a new set of suits built over the past year.

“I don’t think I could ever give up being Iron Man. You’ll still see me flying around when I’m 70.” Tony laughed before they wrapped his part of the show.

He was just thinking about going home to snuggle up with Bruce and watch their friends watch the show when one of the managers told him that there was going to be a post-taping party. Not wanting to appear rude, Tony agreed to hang around. He steeled himself for answering some more personal, less TV friendly questions about his relationship. He had done this kind of thing before, and there was always gossip.

* * *

Bruce woke up spooning Tony with an arm around his waist. He shifted carefully and got up to pee. Tony was still snoring when he came back. Bruce wasn’t quite ready to leave bed, so he lay back down and grabbed his tablet to pull up the interview from last night. He’d fallen asleep for most of it, but he still wanted to see it. When the video ended, Bruce noticed that Tony had stopped snoring. 

Bruce put the tablet down and looked at him. “You said some really sweet things about me.” He whispered. Tony propped himself up to meet his lips. 

“Mmhm, and I meant every word.” Tony replied. “Good morning.”

Bruce smiled. “Yeah, it is.” He leaned down for a better kiss and sucked on Tony’s bottom lip. Hearing Tony praise him so openly in the interview affected Bruce more than he expected. This man was his to love, and now the whole civilized world knew it. He pressed himself to Tony’s chest and slid his hands into Tony’s boxers. Tony moaned low and loud for him as Bruce squeezed his ass. Bruce felt his growing erection meet Tony’s between them.

“Too many clothes.” Tony mumbled. “You sleep in too many clothes.” Bruce agreed and removed his hands from Tony to tug off his shirt and sleep shorts. “That’s better.” Tony sat up, kissing Bruce’s happy trail just below his belly button. He somehow already had a condom open, and he slid Bruce’s briefs down to put it on him. 

“I love you so much. You are-” Bruce paused with a sharp inhale as Tony’s mouth engulfed the head of his cock. “I can’t . . . can’t imagine-” Bruce laughed at himself, unable to speak with Tony’s tongue on him. “I’m trying to say something . . .”

Tony pulled off and sat up to work Bruce with his hands. “Save it. Just love me, Baby. Fuck me, Baby.” Their new position allowed Bruce to sit back on his heels and gave him room to pull Tony’s cock from his boxers. Bruce leaned forward and they rocked together, pumping themselves and each other while Bruce planted soft, wet kisses on Tony wherever he could reach. Tony’s left hand found Bruce’s ass and squeezed, drawing out a groan from Bruce and spurring him to speed up.

“Yeah, Baby! Mmm harder, grip harder.” Tony pleaded. He was bucking up to meet Bruce’s hand, and Bruce rolled his hips in sync as they jerked towards climax. Bruce tightened his hold around Tony’s throbbing cock, and he let out a short moan with each breath when Tony loosened his own hand for softer faster strokes the way Bruce liked. 

“Tony, To- Ohhh!” Bruce stilled in his orgasm and had to make a conscious effort to keep moving his hand for Tony. 

Bruce opened his eyes, not remembering having closed them, to see Tony staring wide-eyed and breathing hard, still thrusting his cock in and out of Bruce’s grip. Tony’s unwavering gaze renewed the flush that had begun to fade from Bruce’s face. “I can’t imagine my life without you. I wouldn’t want to.” Bruce said gently. He watched Tony’s face slack and noted the quickening of his breaths. “You are my home.” Bruce said just before Tony’s hips suddenly spasmed and he came over his abdomen with a choked yelp. His breath shuddered and Bruce loosened and slowed his hand to let him down easy. 

“Jesus, Bruce.” Tony panted. “Oh my god. Forget dirty talk that was… beautiful. Oh, that felt amazing! I can’t believe-!” Tony sat up and pulled Bruce into him, lavishing him with lips and tongue. Bruce beamed inwardly at having found another thing to tantalize Tony with in bed. “I love you. Holy crap, I love you, Bruce.” Tony said when their lips parted. “And I can’t imagine living without you either, by the way. It would be hell, trying to go back to life without the company of my gorgeous genius lover.” Bruce followed Tony into their bathroom to clean up. “I honestly think that was one of the best orgasms of my life. And that first time with you, the tantric sex massage, that’s pretty up there too.”

Bruce thought for a moment of what that meant, considering the many sexual partners Tony had in the past. “You know, every one of my orgasms with you is on my list of bests. I mean, you could probably guess that I haven’t had much before you. But no one else, not even-” Bruce still wasn’t comfortable saying Betty’s name in that context. “No one has been as good as you.”

Tony paused, toothbrush halfway to his mouth, and stared solemnly at Bruce in the mirror. “You know why that is, right? It’s because you love me so damned much, you just look at me and you’re gettin’ hot.” He grinned and went on brushing his teeth like it was nothing. Bruce wanted to roll his eyes at Tony’s joking vanity, but he had to admit, Tony had a point about their love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've inserted two chapters earlier on. Check the timeline if you need.


	16. Battle Tested

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hulkbuster armor is finally done.

Tony watched with satisfaction as Dum-E sprayed the second coat of red paint on the boots of the otherwise completed Hulkbuster armor.

He clapped his hands together. “Who’s ready for a test drive? Jarvis, call Bruce down here.”

A few seconds passed before Jarvis responded, “Dr. Banner has refused, sir.”

“What?” Tony furrowed his brow and looked towards one of Jarvis’ cameras. “I know he’s not busy; wasn’t he doing yoga 20 minutes ago?”

“He did not give a reason, and yes, he’s in the gym.”

“That’s enough Dum-E, thanks.” Tony turned and went upstairs. He found Bruce sitting on the floor of the gym, his eyes fixed on the wall a few feet in front of him. He was somewhat slouched and his hands fiddled idly with the drawstring of his sweatpants. “Hey Babe, are you finished uh, yoga-ing?” Tony said quietly as he walked in.

Bruce straightened and stood up before answering, “That depends, have you finished the new suit? I’m not helping you test it.”

Tony thought about arguing, but considered Bruce’s reasons. “Okay, I know you don’t like letting the big guy out. . . . But that’s the whole reason we built this thing. How will we know it works if it’s not battle tested?”

Bruce took two slow steps toward Tony. “Remember how well testing the trap worked? How many prototypes did he destroy before one of them worked?”

“Sixteen.” Tony looked at the the floor, sensing that he’d just lost the argument.

“Sixteen times I endured the transformation, knowing that it would be for the best if the trap worked. He tore most of them to shreds. If this armor isn’t tough enough –I can’t control him Tony, he’ll tear you apart too.” 

Tony nodded. “That’s why the suit came after the trap; I used the same materials from the final trap model. The outside is protected by the strongest alloy possible for its weight. The inside is lined with kevlar and it attaches to Mark 43, which is the safest suit so far. It’s armor, Bruce. It will protect me.

I get the concern buddy, I do, but . . . if we don’t test it, we can’t be sure that it all works. And I don’t mean whether the armor is sturdy enough to protect me, because it is, but it has to be strong enough to hold the big guy off, if not take him down.”

Bruce sighed and looked at the floor, rubbing his forehead as he thought about it. “Is the suit put together? I need to look at it first.”

“Hey Jarvis, assemble the Hulkbuster armor please.” Tony called without taking his eyes off of Bruce. He held out his hand for Bruce to take, and turned slightly toward the door. Bruce nodded silently and put his arm around Tony’s waist, ignoring the offered hand. “You’re kinda sweaty.” Tony commented as they walked, but he didn’t pull away.

The Hulkbuster armor was assembled on its platform, and in all its 24 foot tall glory, it was probably as close an Iron Man suit could get to being a tank. Though that may not be the best comparison, Tony thought, as he remembered the video footage of Hulk ripping the top off of a tank once sent to subdue him. 

“Shit.” Bruce whispered as they stepped into the workshop. “It’s taller than I thought it would be from seeing all the pieces. It’s gotta be, what, twice the size?”

“If not, it’s close. I measured the big guy’s height as close as I could based on videos. I wanted to have a size advantage, partly for padding. You know, the longer the arms, the less jarring I get on the inside.” Tony moved around the armor, gazing appreciatively at its mass.

“And your 43 armor fits in the center?” Bruce asked. He’d helped with most of the plans, but he didn’t have the engineering imagination that Tony did to picture how it all fit together. 

“Yeah, the center body has a chamber for it to fit into. My feet fit about there,” He pointed to the hip/upper thigh region of the Hulkbuster. “And my arms have full range of motion inside the chest area, with plates pressed against the 43 that trigger the suit’s movement.”

Bruce walked to look at it from a different angle. From the side, he could see that the body was nearly six feet thick. He tried to imagine Tony’s comparatively small figure fit inside it and wondered if Tony ever felt claustrophobic. “Okay, and it’s got extra thrust to maintain flight, repulsors, punch-repeater, missiles . . . Am I’m missing anything?”

“The unibeam. It fires three feet wide with enough force to launch the space shuttle if it could be maintained that long, but it sucks power like a bitch, has it’s own arc reactor.” 

Bruce was still skeptical, but he nodded. He knew Tony was right; they would have to test it before they could trust it. And while they were still working on the satellite for it, and the backup system Tony had nicknamed ‘Veronica,’ they would have plenty of time to play with upgrades and fixes if the suit didn’t hold well enough –unless the Hulk killed Tony first– Bruce’s anxiety reminded him. He sighed in resignation and let Tony lead the way to the safe room. 

It wasn’t the first time Tony had locked into the Hulkbuster, but this time felt more complete. Maybe it was the paint job. Or seeing Bruce’s small half-naked form looking up at him fearfully. Tony wasn’t happy about this either. The concept of beating up his own boyfriend was not at all pleasant, especially when his boyfriend was big and green and likely to crush him. He focused on the engineering genius that was the armor around him, remembering all the care and work put into making sure this would save him. 

“Whenever you’re ready, Bruce.” He heard his voice echo back through the suit’s inner speakers. 

Bruce nodded and closed his eyes. A second later, his body shifted and grew, and Bruce clutched his head in pain as he turned green. The Hulk, still enormous even though Tony was taller, looked up at him and snarled. 

Tony took a step forward and braced himself as Hulk launched a punch at him. Tony tried to block it, but he moved too slowly. He could feel the inside of the Hulkbuster adding resistance to his movements so they timed with the actual speed of the outer armor. Hulk’s force had pushed him back a few feet, but Tony held his ground and countered the punch. Hulk caught his metal fist and pushed, so Tony added thrust to his arm and sent the Hulk staggering back. When he looked up again, he had a look like he was glad to have met his match, the first since the Abomination. 

Before Hulk jumped back at him, Tony sent four small missiles out. They didn’t even slow him down. Tony was knocked on his back with Hulk on top of him, pounding at his metal chest. The impacts were jarring, but not painful. Tony tried the punch repeater on the right fist to knock Hulk off of him. Hulk slammed the arm to the ground after three hits. Tony used his size advantage to shift with Hulk’s movement and shove him away with his left arm. He followed up with a repulsor to force Hulk down. He then had to use the repulsors to lift himself off of the ground, and by the time he was up, Hulk was at him again. Tony sent more missiles, this time ten of them, all at Hulk’s face. He was really glad that Bruce wouldn’t remember this.

Hulk covered his face with his hands and was clearly bleeding, but it only fueled his rage. Hulk ran back across the room in two steps and tackled Tony. His hands and legs clung to the Hulkbuster as he pounded Tony’s head. The shock absorption was weakest at the head, and Tony winced inside the armor, gaining a headache with each punch. 

Sure, he had other options, but he didn’t want to take much more of this. Besides, he was barely holding his own. He fired up the unibeam. Hulk had been hanging onto Tony by the strength and grip of his legs around the suit’s chest, the shot was perfectly aimed to send Hulk flying across the room. Tony took his few seconds’ chance and stepped out through the huge emergency door. The door closed, and then Hulk pounded against it. 

Tony released himself from the Hulkbuster, then from the 43 armor. He sat, gasping, on the floor. He could still hear Hulk’s roars from the other side of the wall. He caught his breath and pulled up the video of the fight, watching it side-by-side with the live footage of Hulk wearing himself out. Before the video ended, Hulk collapsed and slowly shrunk back into Bruce. 

It was only when Tony walked, unarmored, back into the safe room that he realized how much damage the room itself had sustained. Bruce lay at the edge of a small crater in the floor. There were similar dents all over the room. Were Hulk or Tony had been slammed into the walls, the panels were so badly dented that the edges were peeling away from the wall’s inner structure. Hulk had apparently dug his feet into the floor to push against the emergency door, because those floor panels were crushed into the foundation. Tony was glad he had at least had the forethought to keep the floors above and below this one empty. 

Bruce groaned and sat up. Tony helped him to his feet and offered a hug that Bruce gratefully accepted. 

“Let me get you some tea before you watch the footage.” Tony said.

“Clothes would be nice too.” Bruce added.


End file.
